Thermal Imaging & Commercial Properties

How Thermal Imaging helps Surveyors on commercial properties

So, how can thermal imaging help surveyors on commercial properties? Let’s try to answer this common question. Thermal imaging can be incredibly beneficial for surveyors conducting inspections on behalf of clients looking to buy a new building, such as office and retail etc.

Here are some keyways it helps protect new purchasers:

1. Detecting Hidden Building Issues: Thermal imaging can reveal problems in buildings, not visible to the naked eye, such as electrical faults, water leaks, and damage to the building envelope. allows surveyors to identify potential issues early on, so their clients have a more informed overview as to the condition of the building/s.
2. Building Energy Efficiency: By identifying areas where heat is escaping through the building fabric, thermal imaging helps pinpoint insulation problems. This information can be used by the client to target repairs t the building, so it improves the energy efficiency, potentially saving the buyer a large amount of money on future energy bills.
3. Maintain Safety: Thermal imaging inspections can detect overheating electrical components, which could pose a fire risk. Identifying these issues early ensures that necessary repairs can be made to keep the building safe before the client takes occupancy. It can also reduce the need for working at height or within restricted access areas.
4. Non-Invasive Building Inspection: Unlike most traditional methods that require drilling holes or removing parts of walls, thermal imaging is non-invasive method of inspecting the building. This means surveyors can quickly inspect the property thoroughly, without causing any damage.
5. Pest Detection: Thermal imaging can also help detect the presence of pests by identifying their heat signatures behind walls, or within floor and ceiling voids. This can be crucial in preventing pest-related damage and/or potential health issues.
6. Negotiation Leverage: Armed with the insights/information of potential defects from thermal imaging, buyers can negotiate a more competitive price more effectively. They can request repairs or adjustments to the sale price based on the documented issues contained within the thermal imaging inspection report.

Overall, thermal imaging provides a comprehensive and detailed inspection, ensuring that buyers can make a more informed decision about their potential new building purchase.

How Our Thermal Imaging Inspections Work

Thermal imaging inspections are a valuable tool during estate purchasing, providing detailed insights that go far beyond what the naked eye can see. Here’s a deeper look at how they work and their benefits

1. Infrared Technology: Thermal imaging uses infrared cameras to detect temperature variations on surfaces. These cameras capture heat signatures, which are then translated into images showing different colours based on temperature differences. We only use the hight quality thermal imagining cameras with high resolution and sensitivity.
2. Inspection Areas: Our thermographers typically scan various parts of the building, including walls, ceilings, floors, electrical systems, plumbing, and insulation. The images produced can reveal hidden issues that might not be visible during a standard visual inspection.

What issues can be found during thermal imaging.

There are literally hundreds of different issues that can be found during our thermal imaging inspections, here are just a few of the most common:

• Water Leaks and Moisture: Thermal imaging can detect water leaks in walls, ceilings, and floors by identifying cooler areas where moisture is present. This helps clients to negotiate a lower price on the property, so robust repairs can be undertaken whilst keeping costs to a minimum.  
• Insulation Gaps in the Building Fabric: It can highlight areas where insulation is missing or inadequate in walls, roof or floors, so repairs can be made, which helps to improve the buildings overall energy efficiency.
• Electrical Issues: Overheating electrical components can be identified, preventing potential fire hazards and/or downtime to critical infrastructure.
• Structural Defects: It can reveal structural issues such as missing insulation or hidden cracks within the building envelope.

Overall, thermal imaging provides a comprehensive and detailed inspection, giving property buyers peace of mind and confidence in their purchase decision.

Contact APT Sound Testing for your thermal imaging survey

If you would like to proceed with a thermal imaging survey to your building, you are in safe hands. Our high specification utilised in these inspections which surpasses those required by BREEAM, our thermographers are Level 3 certified, which is the highest accreditation available. We also utilise large format FLIR thermal imaging cameras.

It’s worth noting that our thermal imaging services include the following:

• Level 3 thermographic certification
• Level 3 qualified electrical thermographers
• Large format FLIR cameras with 45-degree lenses
• A detailed report which includes thermal indexing formula for fault diagnosis, qualification, and severity grading.

If you need a thermal survey to a commercial property, please let us know and we will book in the first available date for you.

If you have any further questions in regard to the above, please don’t hesitate to call APT Sound Testing on 01525 303905 or 07775 623464.