An infrared camera inspection can reveal missing insulation, water leaks, and other various conditions in a home. This is done by using a camera that ‘sees’ heat. The camera displays a picture that is a map of the temperatures of everything within its view. 

So the infrared camera doesn’t see through walls, it takes the temperature of the wall and creates a picture from those temperatures. The temperature of the wall surface can give you clues as to what is inside, or on, a wall. For instance, imagine a wall where one area of wall has insulation behind it, and another area that does not. In the winter time the surface of the wall where there is no insulation will be colder than the section with insulation inside it. An infrared camera will clearly show this temperature differential.

Another example is finding a water leak above a ceiling. If there is a plumbing leak there may be no visual evidence of the leak to the naked eye. But when water stands on a surface the water tends to evaporate. That evaporation lowers the temperature of the water and hence the surface it is in contact with. So if there is water on top of a ceiling panel the visible surface of the ceiling will be colder than surrounding areas. An infrared camera will usually show the difference in temperature very clearly on the screen.

These are just a couple uses of an infrared camera inspection. If you are wondering if an infrared camera inspection will help you, please ask.