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3398 Washington Road
Atlanta, GA 30344
USA
773.398.5288
corbett@buildingperformanceworkshop.com
Advanced residential construction and home improvement consulting and owner's advocacy in Atlanta, using the latest building performance diagnostic and modeling techniques and tools. Airtightness, insulation, HVAC, ventilation, moisture, and air quality and EMF consulting for homeowners and building professionals alike.
Home performance articles and stories from the field with internationally respected building forensics guru Corbett Lunsford at the Building Performance Workshop. Hear new episodes of the Building Performance Podcast, see new videos from the Home Performance YouTube channel, and learn all about how diagnostic testing (more than an 'Energy Audit') can make home improvement and new home construction a proven process!
In his monthly tour of a building forensics investigation of a home's performance, Corbett shows how the problems of a new home can be measured, prioritized, and improved. Measured home improvement is the name of the game, even with a 6-month old house.
Today Corbett talks with Chris Dorsi, founder of the Habitat X Thinktank, about the state of performance-based building in Europe and what the construction industry needs next. *Listeners get a whopping $675 discount off Habitat X registration until June 15 by using code Corbett375.
For all other episodes, or more on this one, check it out on iTunes (or wherever you get your podcasts) and at: BuildingPerformancePodcast.com
Today Corbett talks with Peter Troast of Energy Circle, who was just awarded the 2015 BPI Tony Woods Award at ACI National Conference. Peter runs the websites of over 300 home performance contractors, and so may have the best view of how performance-based business in the 21st century is actually working.
For more episodes, or to download this one, subscribe on iTunes or visit BuildingPerformancePodcast.com
Seriously, I challenge the world to throw down another video that uses infrared thermography that's slicker than this one! Any guesses on how we created it? HINT: You have to know a bit about thermal cameras to think through this technically.
Hi Corbett,
Besides being fun and cool, can the Flir ONE infrared camera be helpful in assessing wall cavity insulation, attic insulation consistency or detect air leakage in a home, with or without the aid of a blower door? I'm a general contractor and I'd like to get an inexpensive IR camera- what are your thoughts on this matter?
thanks so much,
Matt
Hey there Matt-
Thanks for writing! The short answer is a big fat NO- any pocket infrared camera has very low resolution, and while they're great at demonstrating the simple fact of heat fluctuations, I wouldn’t trust it for QC and inspection of homes. The resolution on a Flir ONE is 80 x 60- that means, incredibly, there are 5,400 infrared thermometers embedded in it, but that's not enough to give you a clear, colorful picture most of the time. See here, in these three images taken of a big bunch of flowers, using the Flir ONE, a Fluke TiR110, and a Testo 885.
Flir ONE flowers: 80 x 60
Fluke TiR110 flowers: 160 x 120
Testo 885 flowers: 320 x 240
While the Flir ONE's 5,400 sensors (80 x 60) are assisted for clarity by combining with the visual camera's outlines, you can see that the Fluke TiR110's 19,200 sensors (160 x 120) mean four times as much resolution! And the winner here is the Testo 885's 76,800 sensors (320 x 240), which give your eyes the clearest picture yet- that means this >$10,000 camcorder-style infrared camera has almost 15 times as many sensors as the Flir ONE. That being said, bang-for-the-buck-wise, I got my ONE for $250, 1/40th the price of the big mother. That's a good deal.
I carry the Flir ONE in my pocket, where it stays connected to my iPhone 24/7 so I can shoot infrared photos of whatever is cool on a daily basis. The Fluke TiR110 I take on all my building forensics jobs. And the Testo 885 I'm using to shoot a high-def video in infrared. Each has its own special uses.
Here's another example of the resolution and 'color pop' difference when you're choosing an infrared camera: the wire shelves in my oven...
Flir ONE oven: 80 x 60
Fluke TiR110 oven: 160 x 120
Testo 885 oven: 320 x 240
The wire supports are almost completely invisible in the Flir ONE's 80 x 60 resolution, even WITH the added outlines from the visual camera. You get more resolution and snap in the other two cameras, again with an obvious winner in the 320 x 240 resolution. And by the way, anytime you use the infrared camera for home performance testing, you should DEFINITELY always use a blower door to reveal the air leakage- otherwise, you're at the whim of stack effect, wind, and HVAC pressurizations.
I hope this helps with your decision- being a building performance analysis ninja means having the right equipment, and there's probably a reason why the nice tools don't get carried around with you everywhere (hint: $10,000)- that's why it's nice to have a range, if you can swing it!
To find out more about how to use infrared to understand home performance, watch this:
Corbett and Grace attended the 2-day workshop with Tiny Home Builders outside Atlanta- see what it was like, and why 40 people spent two days getting more obsessed over tiny houses!
Today Corbett talks with Dan Louche of Tiny Home Builders about the challenges, specialties, and impacts of having an army of homeowners-to-be designing and building their own tiny homes. Sponsored by the Building Performance Workshop Training Portal.
Building forensics guru and Home Performance Diagnostics author Corbett Lunsford walks you through 3 jobs from April 2015, to help pros and homeowners alike understand that Proof Is Possible in quality control for new homes, home improvements, and commercial buildings.
I now carry a tiny infrared thermal camera with me everywhere I go, and I've decided to make it my contribution to humanity. I got so tired of washing dishes and being nice- this will be much easier, as contributions go!
The sun is more than 248 degrees. Get out!
I literally am such a nerd about this that I point it at trees, the floor, anything that might be awesome.
The floor. With a spill on it!
Trees!
Feet!
Infrared is not an X-ray, you can't really see through anything, but you can see temperature changes behind objects, which is also technically a superpower.
Infrared thermal portrait of a cathedral
People look pretty cool under infrared, as long as you don't look at their faces, which look terrifying.
The crowd at an Indigo Girls concert
What I mainly use my infrared camera for, though, is buildings. You can't hide anything in construction anymore, thanks to tools like this.
One brick wall: old brick on the left, new brick on the right. Very different heat signatures!
Chicago's Thompson Center
Airport construction project
Infrared thermal cemetery
The camera I got is called the Flir ONE, and it mates with my iPhone 5 to make my pocket bulge with infrared awesomeness! For $250, I recommend it to anyone who likes having an easy superpower.
Today Corbett talks with architect Chris Laumer-Giddens, half of LG Squared, about why he decided to tackle the whole pizza, what's wrong with the current models of architect, builder, and contractor, and what certifications like ENERGY STAR or LEED can and can not do for the industry. Sponsored by the Building Performance Workshop Online Training Portal.
Spend six weeks with building forensics guru Corbett Lunsford, learning to maximize your profits in the private market using performance testing for home improvements and homebuilding. Registration opens August 1, course begins Labor Day, continues long-distance until October 17. Learn to master your business and immediately put your skills to work in your local market.
Home Performance Diagnostics author Corbett Lunsford shows you in 30 seconds how hilarious it is for a former ballet pianist to inspect construction sites. Proof Is Possible- ask for it.
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