A thermal camera could be the last thing on your mind when thinking about the holidays. But with Black Friday in the offing (and winter round the corner), there may not be a more essential tool that should be on your list this season than the infrared device. If you examine closely and look at the things it can help you with, you’d highly likely put the thermal imaging device on top of your shopping list yourself.
Above and beyond, infrared cameras are about seeing what our human eyes can’t see. Surprisingly, winter offers a most opportune time to show how much we’ve been missing. Below are 5 hidden dangers most people face during the sweater months but can easily be spotted and therebyprevented using a thermal camera.
1) Dangers Behind the Wheel
As common as the act of driving is, it’s easy to forget the dangers people experience while on the road. But even with all of man’s advancement, there’s not a year when road accidents didn’t happen. And the fact is, road mishaps are at their peak during the cold months of winter.
What we’ve found out will surprise you. Studies have shown the poorer the road weather conditions get, the higher the risks of road accidents. One such study using the Palm probability method revealed the highest accident risk came from icy rain and very slippery road conditions.
Picture 1: Deadliest State for Winter Driving from 2013 to 2017 (Source)
Additional stats on winter driving:
- Over 1,000 people are killed each year in America on icy, snowy, or slushy roads
- Illinois alone had over 280,000 vehicular accidents in winter since 2006
- On December 23, 2019, at least 69 cars has a chain-reaction massive crash due to ice and fog on Interstate 64.
How Thermal Camera Can Help
Low visibility increases traffic deaths by three-fold. Nightime, fog, and rain are just some of the reasons road accidents rise. Low-light conditions compounded by the weather can impair a vehicle’s headlights (reaching about 250 feet in front) making it hard for a driver to see.
Thermal cameras can, however, equip a man behind the wheel to see even with all the noise. For one, thermal sensors can reach distances as far as 3,000 feet allowing drivers to see what’s ahead. In doing so, he can determine possible road hazards long before they become problematic.
Bear in mind that thermal cameras can help you see even in total darkness. It can produce crisp, reliable images even in the absence of light — far better than any night-vision camera. The same holds for fog and rain.
A thermal camera can produce thermal images based on the thermal radiation differences of the object in front of it. Although fog and rain may diminish an infrared camera’s ability to detect temperature differences, the device is a far more reliable method to assess road risks in winter compared to the human eye alone.
2) Utter Destruction from Fires
The cold weather may seem not ideal for fires to break out. But the truth is they do. Worse, the incidence of fires is even more rampant during the sweater months.
The reason is simple. When the weather is cold outside, the need for warmth heightens. Such natural tendency can lead to disastrous results.
Table 1: Top Causes of Fire in Winter USA (source)
How Thermal Camera Can Help
Far too often, excessive heat is a prelude to the incidence of fire. By detecting these hot spots before they become full-blown fires, thermal cameras can be a tremendous help in fire prevention.
It doesn’t matter if it’s an industrial fire, a forest fire, or a home fire. Detecting the presence of above-normal heat signatures without having to directly touch objects can go a long way in ensuring fires don’t break out.
Preventive maintenance is therefore a must in this case. But by using a thermal camera, the job of zeroing in on a hot spot becomes a lot easier.
3) Dangers of Home Invasion and Thieves
Quite frankly, home invasion is not as rampant in winter as it is during the summer months. That may have to do with people being at home more often in the holiday season. But statistics will tell you it’s not a reason for you to be complacent.
- Over 2.5 million burglaries happen in America each year
- 66% of those are home break-ins
- 56% of these break-ins are through doors and windows
- The majority of those burglars are males under 25 who live within 2 miles of the victim’s house
- 88% of burglars break in to support a drug habit
It’s safe to say that burglary is a fairly common occurrence. And with the pandemic still in full swing this year 2021, the practice may be more common now more than ever.
Take note that people you know could rob you. As many as 65% of these break-ins are done by people who know the victims beforehand. 34% were done by relatives or people close to you.
How Thermal Camera Can Help
The best way to stay on top of the situation is to prevent a home invasion. When break-ins happen, you’re on the receiving end of a very bad day. And while the majority of these crimes don’t end up in violence, some do even during this year 2021. The deadly home invasion that happened in Culter Bay, Florida early this year is but one of the many examples.
Right off the bat, thermal cameras provide far more efficient perimeter security than traditional video cameras. For one, infrared technology can detect the presence of burglars even in complete darkness. As it can detect human beings more accurately than conventional methods, you’re assured you won’t have to deal with false alarms each time.
Take note that a stray dog or any animal for that matter can be misconstrued by traditional CCTV cameras as home or building invaders. But never with a thermal camera. As the infrared device can “detect” through fences and vegetation, spotting an intruder is a cinch night or day.
Plus, you need not worry about the haze, fog, or smog during winter. Thermal cameras can detect the human heat signature accurately. It’s why many homes and business establishments would fare better using thermology.
Some businesses that would fare better with a thermal camera on security detail are:
- Retail locations
- Construction sites
- Solar farms
- Cannabis greenhouses
- Self-storage facilities
For this and more, it’s no surprise thermal cameras in your CCTV are security at their finest. Here are more details on how you are safer with one.
4) Pest Infestation
Many hidden forces could be sabotaging your home or business establishment as we speak. But none can be more insidious than termites along with a host of minute pests. All over America, termites are working their way in thousands of homes —, eating away your precious wood, and actively damaging your structure day in day out.
Figure 1: Termite Distribution in the U.S. (source)
You might think termites are a small problem. But every year, over $5 billion is spent by Americans to control the diminutive beast. And about 600,000 homes are affected by it.
How Thermal Camera Can Help
Traditional methods of locating termite infestation may fall short. Knocking on wood, for one, not only is unreliable but also can take so much of your time.
However, never lose heart. You need only to set things aside and cast a blind eye for the issue to blow up in your face. While a termite colony in leveling a home to the ground is very rare, the “white army” can infuse substantial damage if you leave them to their own devices.
A termite acting alone may hardly show up in your thermal camera monitor. But once the colony is set up inside your home and a huge number of termites are gathered, thermography will detect them. Their collective heat signature will show up as opposed to the surrounding background.
Therefore, using a thermal camera allows you to detect the presence of termites without having to waylay your walls. That way you protect your building structure from the destructive nature of termites (and other pests) without having to spend much time and effort. Click here for more pertinent details on how to do just that.
5) Dangers from a Damaged Building
Winter provides a ‘perfect storm’ for all a host of detrimental factors to culminate. As the cold sets in, moisture can easily find its way from above. Or all that water can attack from below.
Table 2: How Winter Can Damage Your Building
How Thermal Camera Can Help
Structural damage, for the most part, is invisible to the naked eye. Once it manifests, that can certainly mean bad news for you. More often than not, such damage would be far too massive when you can visually notice it.
So, when the time comes that you notice cracks in the walls or gaps between the floor and walls or doors that hardly close or open, it may be too late. Getting your building back in shape could mean a serious amount of work.
Or worse, you could be facing a disaster. The June 24 collapse of oceansia condo in Miami which took over 90 lives this year is one timely reminder. To note, the inability to attend to structural damage caused by water was a key factor in the building’s collapse.
It won’t matter if it’s from above or from down below, abnormal accumulation of moisture weakens your building integrity. What’s important is you take action before it’s too late.
Fortunately, this is where a thermal camera can especially come in handy. The device is one powerful non-invasive way to monitor and diagnose the structural integrity of buildings. Small wonder infrared camera technology has become a go-to tool for many of the top building inspectors today.
By using a thermal camera, you can identify problem areas early allowing you to document and correct them without having to factor costly repairs.
Some of the most common ways a thermal camera can help you foster building structural integrity are:
- Find moisture in walls
- Zero in on thermal bridges
- Detect construction faults
- Locate air leaks
- Locate hot water pipe breaches
- Identify holes in your roof
If you’re serious about building integrity this winter, investigating your roof is a good start. Doing so regularly can save you tons of energy bills.
Truth be told, there are so many ways thermography can help you this winter. Indeed, you prevent unwanted disasters from blowing up in your face. As a result, you open your doors to the “Happy Holidays” ahead this season with a thermal camera in hand.