Infrared thermal imaging
A thermal camera turns invisible heat loss, missing insulation, and air leaks into a picture you can actually point at. It’s not a separate service — it’s one of the diagnostic tools we bring to every home energy audit, HERS rating, and Home Energy Score, alongside the blower door.
What infrared thermal imaging actually sees
A thermal camera measures the surface temperature of everything it points at and turns those temperatures into a color image. The camera does not see through walls — it sees the temperature of the wall surface, which changes when there is missing insulation behind it, an air leak moving cold air across it, or moisture wicking through it.
In an Iowa winter, this is powerful. The inside of your house is warm, the outside is cold, and any defect in the building envelope leaves a temperature signature on the wall, ceiling, or floor surface. With the blower door pulling outside air in, those signatures get even more obvious.
What we use it for
Finding Missing or Settled Insulation
Sections of wall or ceiling that read noticeably colder than their surroundings usually mean the insulation is gone, settled, or was never installed. Common Eastern Iowa findings: settled blown-in attic insulation around the perimeter, missed wall cavities behind kneewalls, and uninsulated rim joists.
Locating Leaks with the Blower Door Running
With the house under negative pressure at 50 pascals, cold outside air gets pulled in through every leak — showing up as cold streaks at top plates, recessed lights, electrical outlets, attic hatches, and duct chases. One of the most useful diagnostic combinations in the toolkit.
Checking for Thermal Bridging
Studs, rafters, and other framing conduct heat faster than the insulation between them, often showing as warmer or colder lines through the wall — useful for identifying houses that would benefit from continuous exterior insulation.
Spotting Water Intrusion
Water changes the thermal mass of building materials. Active leaks, past leaks, and damp insulation often show up on a thermal scan even when the surface looks dry.
What makes a good thermal scan
Thermal imaging works best when there is a meaningful temperature difference between the inside and outside of the house — generally at least a 15°F delta, which is the BPI guideline. In Eastern Iowa, that means heating season (roughly November through March) gives the cleanest, most diagnostically useful images.
We can still use thermal imaging in shoulder seasons and summer — sometimes by running the air conditioner hard to create a delta, or by combining it with the blower door to make air leaks visible regardless of temperature — but the deepest, most quantitative findings come from a winter scan.
What thermal imaging is not
Surface Temperatures Only
The camera cannot tell you what is behind a hot or cold spot — only that something is causing the temperature anomaly. Interpretation requires a trained operator.
Not a Separate Service
Thermal imaging without the context of a blower door test, a building science assessment, and a written report is just pretty pictures. We include it as part of every audit, HERS rating, and Home Energy Score, where it adds diagnostic value.
Complementary to the Blower Door
The blower door tells you how much the house leaks; the thermal camera helps tell you where. Together they tell a complete story. Blower door testing →
A calibrated camera, a certified operator
We use a calibrated infrared camera meeting BPI requirements for building envelope inspection. Home Star Iowa is a BPI Testing Center, and the owner, Rob Novak, has been a BPI Certified Building Analyst and BPI Certified Trainer since 2009. We are also a RESNET HERS Rater and a DOE Home Energy Score Assessor — a combination of credentials that is unusual in the Eastern Iowa market.
Thermal imaging across Eastern Iowa
We provide thermal imaging as part of energy audits and diagnostic work throughout Eastern Iowa, including:
Frequently asked questions
Can I just hire you to do a thermal scan of my house?
Does thermal imaging work in summer?
Will thermal imaging show me mold?
Does the camera see through walls?
Curious where your house is losing heat?
Schedule an energy audit, HERS rating, or Home Energy Score — thermal imaging is included. Every assessment is performed by Rob Novak, BPI-certified since 2009.