Infrared Energy Audits

Are you concerned that your log home or log cabin is not as energy efficient as it should be? Do you feel drafts or wonder where insects are coming in? Most log homes have some amount of drafts, but some homes and cabins are draftier than others. Many issues faced by log home and log cabin owners are only revealed with the use of professional infrared thermal imaging cameras. We know the drafts are coming from somewhere where there is insufficient insulation or there are gaps but it can be difficult to pin down because there is not always an obvious entry point. Doors and windows are often the obvious candidates for energy loss and unless you have the latest insulation technology built into them, you are forced to cover them with plastic or lay towels or other creative means to stop the drafts. A log home energy audit can detect problem areas so that they can be repaired.

A log home energy audit will help to discover things like settling, shifting, gaps, checking and age that have effects on your log home’s energy efficiency through gaps in the wood. Checking occurs as the logs age and dry out over time. Infrared imaging is able to diagnose checking to determine which checks go all the way through the log. Log homes breathe, expanding and contracting, with the air temperatures that change seasonally from warm to cold, and back again.

Welcome to the world of infrared thermal imaging technology for log homes and cabins. Today’s devices offer views of your log home that our eyes cannot see. This is one of the devices used during a log home energy audit. There should be an 18 to 20 degree temperature difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures. Thermal imaging cameras provide the ability for us to locate and solve these draft issues; insect issues and other issues such as rot in your log home as well. A blower door is used to measure the air tightness of the home. By blowing air out of the house a slight negative air pressure is created, and it becomes easier to spot the drafts with infrared thermal imaging technology camera.

IR Cameras (InfraRed) are able to turn temperature variations into a visible picture so that we can see where there are hot, cold, moisture and water leaks, insects, electrical hotspots, rotten wood and more into useful images that can then be used to resolve the problems. In this example we see drafts resulting in energy loss. A thermo gram displays the image as colors assigned to a specified temperature range. In this case, blue means cold.

In the log home energy audit examples above, you can easily see where there are air leaks coming into the home giving you the most accurate information necessary to have them corrected. These inspections, energy audits and diagnosis are performed without harming the existing walls. Inspections can be done on remodeled sections, or even used to verify the installation of windows and doors for example.

A log home energy audit of your log cabin or log home can help you to correct the deficiencies of your home’s weather seal and save you money in your heating and cooling costs in the years ahead. Contact our office today to discuss your home and schedule your thermal imaging diagnostic log home energy audit.