About 30 years ago, thermal imaging cameras began making their way into the disaster restoration industry. It wasn’t a sudden change and they certainly were not new. In fact, in 1800 a British astronomer named Sir William Herschel discovered infrared. This technology is used in military applications, law enforcement, electrical industry, building diagnostics and many other fields. Today’s restorer needs accurate data to guarantee first-class work with state of the art documentation - thermal imaging cameras are proving to be an absolute must in every restorer’s arsenal.
Infrared cameras have been revolutionary for our industry in many ways. It is a quick and effective tool to help determine what is wet, how wet and whether the wet material is drying. But the technology shouldn’t be used without confirming the presence of water with moisture meters due to the fact that thermal imaging devices work by measuring temperature. Thermal imaging operates along the lines of traditional cameras, except instead of capturing visible reflected light, thermal imaging cameras detect heat released from an object. Evaporation from wet surfaces causes a cooling effect - therefore differences in temperature create a pattern that is processed by the device.