Department of Architecture and Urban Planning

IR Thermography: to a reliable evaluation for the building envelope

Thermografie als graadmeter van de gebouwschilInfrared thermography (IRT) is a non-destructive evaluation technique for the building envelope. By the visualisation of surface temperatures, it is possible to detect construction deficiencies e.g. thermal bridges, moisture problems, incomplete insulation of cavity walls etc. in a fast way in-situ.

Still, caution is recommended when using IRT and analysing the results. Firstly, external influences like weather conditions have a major influence on the surface temperatures. In addition, an insufficient configuration of the temperature scale can lead to misleading thermographic images. Besides, it is unclear how temperature differences are caused by specific aspects like insulation quality, heat capacity and reflection of materials, etc.

What are the ideal conditions to perform IRT on walls, glass panels, inspection of thermal bridges, air leakages and wall damage? In this research, guidelines are developed to guarantee a correct making and analysis of IRT images.