Having your home evaluated with an infrared scanner sheds valuable light on the effectiveness of your home’s thermal envelope. An infrared scanner reveals hidden air leaks and areas where insulation isn’t performing, and can also yield some interesting surprises — such as where an uninsulated hot water pipe or recessed lights may be contributing to an ice dam, for an example. It’s a valuable part of any good home energy audit, and a step that we guarantee to take with thoroughness and precision (although our experience tells us that it can also be a fun part of the energy audit for homeowners).
Finding the insulation problems and the air leaks that you don’t suspect may be the most useful reason to use infrared. It’s fairly common that the thing we suspect is the reason for our high energy bills or discomfort isn’t the primary cause. Infrared and pressure testing help sort the sources of your problems, the next step is to figure out a solution that will be successful in improving the thermal performance of your home. When a problem is identified in infrared, it should be repaired and reinspected in infrared to make sure the solution worked. If you skip this test you may have paid money for no real benefit. The difference between just insulating and performance contracting is that in the end you know you have something effective. If your insulation is not actually effective, than it can’t be cost-effective.
