Many problems contributing to home thermal camera for home heat loss are invisible to the naked eye — including gaps around windows and doors, plumbing leaks, and poorly insulated walls. With the help of a thermal camera, they can be found and fixed, saving energy and money.
A thermal camera detects infrared radiation that warms objects and shows this in a colour map on the screen. It is best used on a day when the outside temperature is colder than the indoor air; this will make it easier to spot where warm air is escaping.
The simplest thermal cameras are handheld units with one “eye” showing the infrared (thermal) image and the other displaying a standard photo. It’s easy to move between the two using arrows on each side of the camera display. The user should be aware that shiny surfaces (like polished metal) may appear different from non-shiny surfaces as the thermal camera will read the surface temperature of the object rather than the surrounding materials.