# infrared camera residential market



## zwodubber (Feb 24, 2011)

mrcastrovinci said:


> :blink:
> 
> ALL,
> I had a discussion with some infared certified fellows about an infrared camera. They started talking about how I should use the camera in my services as an electrical contractor and upsell. I started to poke some holes in the notion that selling this as a service (in residential only) would not work in this market and the economy. My thought is that selling the service for 100-150 for a scan of your panel would never fly and they then mentioned well what about offering it as a free service to upsell while you were there. I beleive IMO that then I would loose out on the labor to find the problem and possibly show up at a site scan something and only be able to bill for min time. I also look at the $1600 for a camera and then the few K for training. Not to mention a lot of customers have no idea what they are looking at so it would take time to explain it, setup the settings (emissivity etc) and maybe some computer time to make a report. So my question is does anyone have specific experience in using this as an upsell in RESIDENTIAL ONLY. Of course commercial and industrial would be a different story and I have used this already when I wasn't a contractor. I tend to see a more limited use for this in RESIDENTIAL only that one could use a different tool or process to find the same conclusion.
> ...


I can say we only promote commercial thermal scans but we offer residential if it is requested. Thermography is a tricky service when working in residential, people seem interested when you tell them about it but typically don't follow though when they have to pay for it.

Thermal imaging is not like a point and shoot camera, as you mentioned you know about emissivity, reflectivity etc. It takes time and training to learn the craft.

I'm not saying it's not possible to make money, but if you are doing strictly residential stick with a cheaper Flir i3, i5, or i7. Don't worry about getting into industrial units like Fluke ti25's or even Flir E series. We have done residential scans but they are rare and usually come from word of mouth from commercial customers.

Below are some residential scans I have done. I have pictures of door and window drafts, moisture and leaks but I need to get them from another drive, we focus mostly on electrical.

Shot with a Fluke ti20


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## zwodubber (Feb 24, 2011)

mrcastrovinci said:


> :blink:
> 
> I started to poke some holes in the notion that selling this as a service (in residential only) would not work in this market and the economy. My thought is that selling the service for 100-150 for a scan of your panel would never fly and they then mentioned well what about offering it as a free service to upsell while you were there.


Somehow missed this on the first read, as most residential thermal scans come from commercial customers we do full house scans (window and door leaks, insulation, moisture, HVAC) for about $150. That being said our commercial accounts have been with our company for many years as we treat them as we would like to be treated.


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## mrcastrovinci (Jan 10, 2011)

thanks for the reply. 

I figured that was going to be the answer

"I can say we only promote commercial thermal scans but we offer residential if it is requested. Thermography is a tricky service when working in residential, people seem interested when you tell them about it but typically don't follow though when they have to pay for it."
"We have done residential scans but they are rare and usually come from word of mouth from commercial customers."

I suppose if I got one used from somewhere such as ebay (and I make sure it works good) or got a cheapo speacial maybe I could venture this. If not there is always my commercial or industrial side I could bring this on. From my gathering these new guns are auto focus and mostly a limited view of hot/cold spots and then from there you would further investigate Ie tighten wire or check amps, nothing like the expensive guns with all the settings and reporting. I view it as an expensive IR temp gun, and nothing like when I used the 18K fluke camera I use to occasionally use. I'll keep you updated if I get one.


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## GEORGE D (Apr 2, 2009)

Wow, the company I work for sends us out with no training, using a fluke ( not sure which) and we just walk around scanning things looking for something obvious. He will not invest in training


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## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

1. Few residential panels have enough load for regular scanning to find issues. A visual is almost as practical.
2. Most IR interest we get is in regards to scanning the envelope of the house, looking for insulation issues.
3. I just do not see it as a great investment, unless you were going to perform whole house scans.


Start giving IR scans away and we'll come break your legs and camera.:laughing::laughing:

The market is already being driven into the not worth effort realm of electrical work.


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## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

zwodubber said:


> house scans (window and door leaks, insulation, moisture, HVAC) for about $150. That being said our commercial accounts have been with our company for many years as we treat them as we would like to be treated.


Each man runs his own horse, BUT $150.00, AYOOYM? (Are You Out Of Your Mind). We do not (or did not) leave the office with our camera for under $660.00. And that is shooting one or two items.

What do you get for a full day?

Do you pull covers ?


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

Zwodubber,

Not to sidetrack this thread, but is there actually anything wrong in those images, or are they just examples?

-John


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## dronai (Apr 11, 2011)

Would this cheapo work for residential ?

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/electr...rared-thermometer-w-laser-sighting-92092.html


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## Salvatoreg02 (Feb 26, 2011)

I bought the FLIR I. 5 recently because of the same interest the OP had. I had a lengthy discussion with BRIAN JOHN and after about week later or so after testing it out at residential jobs I went to, I realized there really is no need at this time. So, I returned it.

Sent from my iPhone using ET Forum


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## dronai (Apr 11, 2011)

Salvatoreg02 said:


> I bought the FLIR I. 5 recently because of the same interest the OP had. I had a lengthy discussion with BRIAN JOHN and after about week later or so after testing it out at residential jobs I went to, I realized there really is no need at this time. So, I returned it.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using ET Forum


 
This one ? $1,599.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...21x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=00987802000P


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## Salvatoreg02 (Feb 26, 2011)

dronai said:


> This one ? $1,599.
> http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00987802000P?sid=IDx20070921x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=00987802000P


Yes.. And I paid 1799 at grainger.

Sent from my iPhone using ET Forum


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## zwodubber (Feb 24, 2011)

Big John said:


> Zwodubber,
> 
> Not to sidetrack this thread, but is there actually anything wrong in those images, or are they just examples?
> 
> -John


Just examples


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

GEORGE D said:


> Wow, the company I work for sends us out with no training, using a fluke ( not sure which) and we just walk around scanning things looking for something obvious. He will not invest in training


Sounds like a smart business person.


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## zwodubber (Feb 24, 2011)

zwodubber said:


> as most residential thermal scans come from commercial customers we do full house scans (window and door leaks, insulation, moisture, HVAC) for about $150. That being said our commercial accounts have been with our company for many years as we treat them as we would like to be treated.


The $150 is for residential scans of valued long term commercial customers, I should have worded that better. This is not our "regular" rate.


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## mrcastrovinci (Jan 10, 2011)

brian john said:


> 1. Few residential panels have enough load for regular scanning to find issues. A visual is almost as practical.
> 2. Most IR interest we get is in regards to scanning the envelope of the house, looking for insulation issues.
> 3. I just do not see it as a great investment, unless you were going to perform whole house scans.
> 
> ...


 
:laughing: 1,2,3 Check....I agree the market is already flooded with cheap labor that makes it hard to compete with, an apples to oranges comparison (A topic that always arises). My thought was even if you up sell a job from it.....giving it away for free may open a whole area of "Free expectations", not to mention cut the chance of doing it as a extra service option. Even worse they get the free scan from you and their neighbor does the work. IMO


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## kaboler (Dec 1, 2010)

Forget about the cost, what about the coolness factor? I want one just because it's tecky and cool! And that's not sarcasm either.

In the above pictures, is having hot wiring and a hot breaker bad? I mean, what would you be scanning for? Maybe that's normal use registering as white hot scary pictures.


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## zwodubber (Feb 24, 2011)

kaboler said:


> Forget about the cost, what about the coolness factor? I want one just because it's tecky and cool! And that's not sarcasm either.
> 
> In the above pictures, is having hot wiring and a hot breaker bad? I mean, what would you be scanning for? Maybe that's normal use registering as white hot scary pictures.



You need to know what each companies breaker temperature is rated at to start. Then you can look for hotspots/loose connections etc..

I would start here


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## captkirk (Nov 21, 2007)

First of all, your not gonna find **** with a camera under 3 grand.... second of all you need to get a camera with a good image ratio. And just because you see some conductors lit up, that doesnt always mean its a bad thing, in many cases it just means that there is current going through the conductors. There is also such a thing as overtightening a conductor...so just cranking on it isnt always good. 
There are also three different levels of thermography. Level one is pretty much nothing. If you want to be serious about it than you need to go for at least a level two, and I think there are only a handfull of level three guys out there. 

If you want to do it for the residential market you wont make **** scanning panels, thats almost a joke. You might make a buck at whole house scans but for 150 .....? why even bother..? 
THe only way you can make it worth you while is to work for industrial commercial customers and you probably need to work in three man teams. The first guy dressed in PPE taking covers off, second guy scanning and the last guy putting covers back on....


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## johnsmithabe (May 3, 2011)

yes the same.
please specify w clear images.


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## johnsmithabe (May 3, 2011)

funny... I think its some thing serious.


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