Thermal Imaging

Thermal Imaging

1 Temperature is very important in our everyday lives and is used for many applications: to check for illness, to determine if food is cooked thoroughly or if your car is overheating. Thermal imaging cameras take measuring temperature to the next level—instead of getting a number for the temperature, you get a picture showing the temperature differences of a surface. Thermal imaging, also known as thermography, is a technique for producing an image of invisible infrared light emitted by objects with the use of a thermal imaging camera. Thermal imaging cameras provide rapid scanning of a surface that is nondestructive and environmentally friendly, which allows for quick detection of potential problems or defects that will reduce troubleshooting time and preventative maintenance.

2 Thermal imaging cameras don’t actually see temperature. Instead, they capture the infrared (IR) energy transfer from an object to its environment and produce a real-time image in a color palette where hotter objects appear brighter and cooler objects appear darker. IR energy is generated by the vibration of atoms and molecules and behaves similarly to visible light where it can be reflected, refracted, absorbed and emitted. The more these atoms and molecules move, the higher the temperature of the object.

3 EKOFASTBA’s thermal cameras based on Therm-App™ are sophisticated devices that are attached to latest Android Smartphones and convert them in specialized thermography instruments.

The great advantage of our equipment is that you will be able to have the most advanced features often found in US$ 50,000 equipment at a fraction of that cost, without having a compromise in image quality. In addition to that, thermography solutions based in EKOFASTBA’s technology and Therm-App™ device are integrated with a software App that is used to store, analyze, share and generate reports with the pictures of videos taken of the inspected scene or object.

4 At EKOFASTBA we do have the flexibility and agility to even develop a specific software App for your particular needs as well as different ways of customizations in the Smartphone or the Therm-App™ device. It has never been easier to become a fully functional thermography inspector with our integrated solutions based on Therm-App™ device and our software App.

The following demos compare visible and thermal images of the same location.

  1. solar-panels1-visible
  2. solar-panels1-thermal
  1. solar-panels2-visible
  2. solar-panels2-thermal
  1. building-visible
  2. building-thermal
THERMAL IMAGING CAMERA APPLICATIONS AND USES

Thermal imaging cameras are becoming a common tool in the home inspection industry where they are being used to verify building performance to specifications, to determine insulation condition, locate leaks, verify structure design and locate moisture intrusion. Of course, these are not the only thermal imaging camera applications. Their use is limited only by the imagination of the user. Primarily, thermal imaging cameras are used where the identification of thermal patterns can be used to find something or diagnose a condition, such as poor insulation in a home or an overloaded electrical circuit. Some examples of thermal imaging camera applications include:

Substation electrical inspections

Thermal heat loss inspections of buildings

Locate radiant heating wires or pipes

Locate potential areas for mold growth

Flat-roof leak detection for buildings

Detect thermal patterns on boiler tubes

Mechanical bearing inspections

Detect insulation leaks in refrigeration equipment

Thermography use in the past has been a subject of multiple research and development; however, practical applications has been limited by the CAMERA COST. This is the main problem we are addressing at EKOFASTBA with the introduction of our integrated solutions of software and hardware based in Therm-App™ device.

A new development in this area is airborne thermographic inspection from the air. By using thermal cameras as a payload in unmanned aerial systems one can perform various thermography applications such as pipeline inspections, solar power stations and windmill generator inspections as well as high voltage lines monitoring.

Any photovoltaic system, either large or small should be inspected at least once a year. EKOFASTBA‘s drones can ensure overall system efficiency with no system outage; such type of inspection can identify faulty modules to replace or fix them quickly. Our technology is able to discover “hot spots” in photovoltaic systems to increase overall system efficiency, increasing productivity.

Ekofastba offers thermographic inspections inaccessible building areas, power lines, fire fighting or aerial archeology. Power line insulators are regularly inspected for low contact resistance and current leakages. Ekofastba provides scheduled inspections in a completely autonomous manner, thus increasing operator’s safety.