A thermal imaging camera is an inspection tool that captures infrared energy - radiation emitted by an object - and creates an image. Thermal imaging cameras, also known as infrared cameras and thermographic cameras, are ideal for industrial inspection. Maintenance, leak detection and machine troubleshooting are all common applications.
What is a thermal imaging camera used for?
Thermal imaging cameras can be used for a wide range of applications: building inspection, security, electrical maintenance, firefighting, gas detection and more. Thermography is a particularly powerful testing method for use in situations where:
- Remote inspection essential for safety
- Damage or decay is expressed by temperature changes, as in three-phase wiring
- Test objects/subjects are invisible due to poor visibility
What is thermography?
Thermography is the process of capturing infrared radiation and translating it into thermal images, or thermograms. Thermography shows variations in temperature expressed in colour. Powerful infrared cameras are incredibly sensitive and show heat in great detail with colour gradations.
Everything around us emits infrared energy - a heat signature. Thermography works by measuring infrared energy and converting that data into electronic images representing surface temperature. An optical system focuses infrared energy on a sensor array, or detector chip, with thousands of pixels in a grid. A matrix of colours corresponding to temperatures is sent as an image to the camera display.
