SERVPRO of West Somerset County Uses Infrared Technology To Detect Water Leaks

3/14/2022 (Permalink)

Every year, water leaks cause serious problems for residential and commercial property owners alike, especially those who live or work in buildings that were constructed before the 1950s. The hardest part has always been finding the source of the leak, but infrared technology is now being used to solve this very costly and irritating problem.

What Causes Water Leakage?

Modern plumbing is a necessity for most buildings, but they are subject to laws of entropy just like everything else. As a consequence, even the most well designed plumbing systems will breakdown as time passes, which usually comes in the form of cracks within the pipe which allows water to leak.

Water leakage might also be the result of rainwater which is entering the building through the roof. This is a common occurrence especially in aging ceilings and the same can happen to walls if they develop cracks. The most hazardous water leakage is the one you don’t quickly recognize. The circulation of water around the property will cause dampness in the surrounding air which makes it unhealthy to breath.

In extreme cases, those living or working on the premises might develop an ailment which is air-borne. If enough time passes, the leak will also begin to compromise the structural integrity of the building and the presence of any electrical conductors or equipment creates an additional danger. It is for these reasons that rapidly identifying a leak and its source are extremely important.

Why Infrared Technology is the Answer

Infrared imaging is state of the art technology which will allow you to identify leaks with ease. It is also use to inspect electric fittings, HVAC and insulation. It accomplishes this through infrared rays which look for thermal abnormalities in a given space.

Every object, whether it be plants, animals, humans or inanimate things, give off specific infrared emissivity. However, the emissivity of an object will change along with the temperature. Therefore, a special camera is used to take infrared radiation images and the various emissivity levels will be displayed as distinct colors within the camera’s display.

Water leakage will raise or reduce the temperature for the surrounding area. This in turn will affect infrared emissivity levels, which corresponds to specific colors. A professional plumber will then be able to identify wet spaces within the camera, and can also identify leaks in places where the liquid is falling within an location because of the air dampness in that particular area.

While infrared imaging is innovative, it still takes a trained eye to read the screen and identify leaks, which is why you want to hire a professional. Even if a property owner purchased one of these infrared cameras and tried using it themselves, the images wouldn’t make sense to them unless they have a deep technical knowledge of plumbing systems, roofing and heat changes.