Thermography is a diagnostic technique increasingly utilised for surveying and recording the thermal properties of a building or object. Thermographic images (thermograms) detect infrared energy emitted from materials and convert it to a temperature. These thermograms can be analysed by a surveyor to help diagnose underlying defects deep within the buildings’ fabric.
The process of carrying out a thermographic survey is a non-contact and non-invasive investigation method, which has many benefits, especially for occupied or sensitive situations.
Building Thermography:
Moisture in buildings can rapidly increase the decay of the building fabric, so identification of the symptoms and the possible causes is essential to instigate remedial works and lessen deterioration. Due to detection of surface temperature variations of the building envelope, thermography can help detect thermal bridging, moisture content and air leakage.
A thermographic survey can reveal inconsistencies occurring in the building envelope’s thermal performance that may reflect a variety of issues. If left unchecked, these differences could potentially lead to:
- Interstitial condensation
- Increased energy consumption
- Decreased internal environmental comfort
- Damage to the building fabric.
There are many uses for thermographic surveys within buildings which an experienced thermographer can analyse and combine with other investigation methods to produce an informed conclusion. Some of the uses of thermography in the built environment are:
- Air leakage
- Moisture problems
- Heating defects,
- Roof leaks
- Concrete faults (re-bar failure / hidden pipework) etc.
Extensive consultation is necessary between the client and Gully Howard Technical to ensure the best conditions are created to ensure the most accurate results are achieved. This is due to many external factors which could potentially mislead analysis. Please contact us on: 023 9272 8040 to discuss your requirements.
Image 1 – digital photo of a series of flat roofs at a school (the roofs are of differing materials and ages. To the naked eye, there appears to be a bit of standing water to the left of image.
Image 2 – thermogram of same image. Line 1 (L1) shows high temperature reading to the centre of large roof (front). Area box 1 (Ar1) shows high temperature to the top left.
Image 3 – thermogram colour span is intensified to highlight high temperature readings. This temperature differential is typical of entrapped moisture underneath the roof covering – therefore revealing moisture ingress and potentially future internal water damage.
