People think buying a DSLR camera is a big task because it’s costly and a lot of things have to be considered. It’s said that the image quality depends on the right selection of the DSLR camera. But, the fact is buying a thermal scanner camera is more difficult because it is specifically designed for different jobs. You cannot buy a thermal camera and use it for different purposes like a DSLR. 

For example, a thermal scanner camera will be different for a plumber, home inspector, electrician, researcher, drone pilot, mechanic, maintenance technician, and others. So, you should know what exactly your requirements are before buying a thermal scanner camera. 

Along with your requirements, there are other factors as well that you should consider before a thermal scanner camera. But, before discussing the factors, we will discuss the common uses of a thermal scanner camera in different industries.  

  • Plumbing- To detect pipe blockages, identify hot water and cold water pipes, and find leaks in walls, ceilings, and concrete and hidden pipes and drains. 
  • Electrical- To identify overloaded circuits, wiring and transformers, find hot or loose connections, detect multi-phase imbalances, find electrical insulation defects, and visualize load distribution. 
  • Home and building- To conduct energy testing, detect missing or defective in-wall insulation, locate thermal bridges, monitor the drying of building materials, detect supply faults, find sources of air leaks and conduct moisture intrusion scans. 
  • HVAC- To find the duct and joint air leaks, detect leaks, locate condenser coil blockages, check coil temperatures, visualize airflow and hot/cold spots and test under-floor heating systems. 
  • Firefighting- To detect hot spots in structural fires, identify potential flare-up locations, find fire victims through smoke, measure fire temperatures, maintain the line of sight with personnel and identify potential HAZMAT risks. 
  • Automotive safety and inspection- To detect pedestrians in low-light conditions, augment autonomous driving systems, improve driving visibility, identify electrical issues, locate areas of high friction, find engine oil leaks and detect sources of excessive overheating. 
  • Gas detection- To detect gas pipeline leaks and monitor potential breaking points. 

The factors are:

The Resolution

The resolution of the camera means its ability to capture details. It’s expressed in the term of pixels. The higher the pixel count is, the higher the resolution will be. And higher the resolution is, the better the image or detail captured by a thermal scanner camera is. 

Assessing the resolution becomes important because most thermal cameras have lower pixel counts than visible-light cameras. Two things to consider for deciding the resolution of the thermal camera are the size of the imaging area and the target. 

The thermal sensitivity 

The minimum temperature difference that a thermal scanner camera can detect is known as thermal sensitivity. The phenomenon is also known as the Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference or NETD. 

If the temperature difference number is low, it’s better for most applications. For example, the control or building inspectors will perform better with great accuracy using a low thermal sensitivity. It will be easy for the home inspector to detect the moisture content. It’s because the temperature difference between buildings and higher moisture content is quite small. 

The temperature range 

Also known as the temperature scale, the temperature range is the range of temperatures the thermal camera is calibrated for and capable of measuring. This becomes an important factor to consider if you are intending to measure high temperatures such as boilers, furnaces, or kilns. 

For decking the right temperature range of the thermal scanner camera, you should determine the temperature to be captured and the disparity in temperatures. If the temperature of the intended use is high but the camera cannot handle it, the result will never be accurate.

The Field of View or FoV

The angle at which a camera sees or checks the given scene is known as Field of View or FoV. You will find thermal scanner cameras with a wide and narrow field of view. The selection depends on your object of interest or the common purpose of the camera. 

Most entry-level thermal cameras come with a wide field of view, meaning they are good for thermal inspections close to the object of interest. People use them to measure far into the distant object of interest. But, the result is less accurate than cameras with a narrow field of view. 

The accuracy and repeatability 

The primary role of the thermal scanner camera is to detect differences in temperatures. But, along with this, the camera is used to measure the temperature differences. It means the temperature range is very easily determined by the thermal camera. 

To make this work, you should consider the accuracy and repeatability of the thermal camera. You will find cameras that achieve ±2% accuracy or better.

The image fusion 

In every application, images are not the same. Sometimes, the thermal images are compared to visible light images to depict the findings in temperature differences clearly. Here, the only thermal capability of the camera doesn’t work. 

There are some thermal imaging cameras with the ability to highlight the difference between thermal and visible images. With this ability of the thermal scanner camera, image capturing in those applications become easier. 

The durability 

Last, the durability of the thermal scanner camera is important. This becomes more important if you are using the thermal scanner camera for applications like high-end surveillance, security, and monitoring of critical infrastructure. 

Other than this, durability is a crucial factor if it’s used outdoors for long periods or moved around a rugged industrial environment. 

The thermal scanner camera is a useful product but only if you make the right pick.

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