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Temperature Measurement and Building Envelope Inspections
Tip written by: Infraspection Institute

Temperature measurement is recognized in many thermographic applications as a means for gauging the severity of exceptions. For infrared inspections of building envelopes, temperature measurement is frequently of little or no value and may serve to underestimate the severity of certain conditions.

Infrared inspections can be used to detect a wide variety of problems in building envelopes. These conditions include, but are not limited to: air leakage, missing or damaged insulation, latent moisture, and pest infestation. Since thermographic detection of these conditions is qualitative, temperature measurement is not required. In fact, there is no reliable means for correlating temperature with the severity of the aforementioned deficiencies. For conditions such as latent moisture, there is no acceptable temperature limit or differential.

Although temperature measurements are frequently meaningless for building envelope inspections, many thermographers routinely include them in their reports. Unfortunately, this practice can create unnecessary liability for a thermographer and damage his/her reputation if their work product is ever questioned or compared to published standards or accepted industry practice. Presently, published thermography standards and accepted industry practice do not incorporate temperature measurement into building envelope inspections.

When faced with situations where temperature measurement can be useful, thermographers should take steps to ensure the accuracy of their measurements. For non-contact temperature measurements, minimum considerations should include equipment calibration, spot measurement size, target emittance, as well as local weather and site conditions.

Infrared inspections of building envelopes is one of the many topics covered in the Infraspection Institute Level I Certified Infrared Thermographer^® training course. For more information including course locations and dates, or to obtain a copy of the Standard for Infrared Inspection of Building Envelopes, visit Infraspection Institute online at www.infraspection.com or call us at 609-239-4788.