Thermal imaging with drones is becoming an increasingly popular commercial property inspection service.
This is because it offers a number of advantages over traditional methods such as visual inspections. In this article, we will take a look at what thermal imaging with drones is, the benefits it offers, and some typical uses of thermal imaging with drones.
What is thermal imaging?
Thermal imaging is a process that uses thermal radiation to produce an image of objects. This technology has been used by the military and law enforcement for many years, but it is now becoming more popular in the commercial world. Thermal imaging with drones offers a number of advantages over other methods such as visual inspections.
What kind of equipment do you need for thermal imaging using drones?
Firstly you need a drone which is capable of carrying the thermal imaging camera. A drone such as the DJI M210 V2 is ideal due to it’s sturdy construction and payload capacity. The thermal imaging camera typically used for this application is the FLIR Thermal Imaging Camera which has a resolution of 640×512, or the Zenmuse XT2.
Then you need to be able to interpret the thermal images. Thermal imaging software, such as FLIR Thermal Studio, can be used to create accurate thermal maps of a property. Once these maps have been created they can be used to identify areas of heat loss or gain and help with energy efficiency studies.
What type of businesses would benefit from thermography inspections?
Thermography is most commonly used for commercial building inspections as it can detect problems with the insulation and airtightness of buildings which can lead to increased energy bills. However, it can also be useful for other purposes such as land surveys, search and rescue operations, industrial equipment inspection, pipeline temperature monitoring, and security patrols. The different types of application are really only limited by your imagination.
A popular use case is for the inspection of solar farms to identify faults in individual panels. By scanning the panels from above and running it through specialised software, you are able to identify faults in individual cells without needing to power down the array and manually test each panel. This alone saves hundreds of hours of manual labour each year on just a single solar farm.
Can thermal imaging with drones detect roof leaks?
Yes. Thermal imaging is a technology that captures heat energy and displays it as an image. By doing this, you can identify objects or areas which are emitting more heat than others. This is useful for detecting roof leaks because water emits thermal radiation at a different wavelength to most other materials. Thermal imagers will be able to detect these differences and highlight any potential weak spots in the roof where water could potentially leak through. Effectively it enables you to look underneath materials to identify issues.
Should your business consider thermographic surveys and inspections?
Thermal imaging with drones is becoming an increasingly popular way to inspect commercial properties such as factories, warehouses, and office buildings. The main benefit of using drones is the ability to cover large areas quickly and easily. This allows business owners to detect issues early.
Drones are also a safer option for thermal imaging as they don’t require people to be put in dangerous places, such as on a high roof top, or in an industrial plant which is emitting large quantities of heat or other pollutants or contaminates.
It is important for business owners to consider using thermal imaging with drones for a number of reasons:
- It can save on energy bills by detecting insulation problems
- It can speed up the inspection process, saving time and money
- It can be used to identify faults in equipment or infrastructure that could lead to losses in production
- It can help keep employees safe by providing early warning of potentially dangerous operations.
We hope you found this article interesting and informative. Thermal imaging with drones is a valuable tool for business owners and offers many benefits, so be sure to consider using it as part of your next inspection!
If you would like to discuss your project to see where thermal imaging can assist, please contact us on by using the form below or calling us on 0800 774 7140.
Did you know you can also use drones to inspect a chimney for the source of leaks? Find out more in our article: Can A Drone Inspection Help Find A Leak?