Comparative Analysis Of Infrared Contractors: Retrofit Insulation Quality Control Inspections Performed On Residential Buildings

Richard A. Regan

doi:10.1117/12.932955

12 March 1982 Comparative Analysis Of Infrared Contractors: Retrofit Insulation Quality Control Inspections Performed On Residential Buildings

Richard A. Regan

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 0313, Thermal Infrared Sensing Applied to Energy Conservation in Building Envelopes; (1982) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.932955
Event: Thermal Infrared Sensing Applied to Energy Conservation in Building Envelopes, 1981, Ottawa, Canada

Abstract

With an increasing interest in the United States, expressed by the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) and the Department of Energy (DOE), as to the cost effectiveness of carrying out quality control thermographic inspections on homes that have been retro-fitted with various types of building insulation and also in the technical proficiency offered by infrared (IR) contractors in this particular application, the New England Innovation Group (NEIG) was contracted to compile, analyze, and report on data supplied to the group by randomly selected infrared inspection contractors which would examine these Particular issues. The homes inspected under this NEIG/NBS/DOE/CSA program were for the most part single-family, low-income homes that were "weatherized" through the Community Services Administration (CSA) Program. Thirty-two homes in eight different cities across the country were inspected by a total of twenty-six different infrared inspection firms using various types of infrared inspection equipment, with baseline data on each of the thirty-two homes being supplied by NBS Personnel. The data supplied by the various private IR inspection contractors was then compared to that generated by the NBS baseline inspection data in the categories of: Method of Inspection, Equipment Operation, Thermal Interpretation, and Completeness and Accuracy in Evaluation. This applied research program, which examines the aforementioned issues as they relate to quality control thermographic inspections of residential buildings, was conducted through the 1978-79 and 1980-81 heating seasons. The results from both phases of the program reveal a drastic need for a standardization in the minimum level of technical exoertise as well as the manner in which IR contractors Perform and present quality control thermographic evaluations.

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Richard A. Regan "Comparative Analysis Of Infrared Contractors: Retrofit Insulation Quality Control Inspections Performed On Residential Buildings", Proc. SPIE 0313, Thermal Infrared Sensing Applied to Energy Conservation in Building Envelopes, (12 March 1982); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.932955

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