How A Thermal Imaging Camera Helps Your Plumber Find A Water Leak In Your Home One of the most frustrating things about a water leak in your home is that the leak can go undetected for months. If the leak is small, it might not cause a huge difference in your water bill, yet your home is being damaged by water all that time. What's worse is developing a large leak that makes your water bill skyrocket, yet you can't even figure out where the water is leaking. A plumber can locate a hidden water leak using different types of technology. One method involves using a thermal camera. Here's how the camera is used to find water leaks in your home. How A Thermal Imaging Camera Makes Pictures A thermal imaging camera makes pictures or videos using light at a wavelength the human eye can't detect. The images it produces show a range of different colors that reflect different temperatures in the environment. Thermal images are very different from images made by traditional cameras or the images seen by the human eye because they record light waves in the infrared spectrum. By taking images of your home with one of these cameras, the plumber can detect temperature …show more content…
If the hot water line is leaking, then the water is hotter than the air in your home, and the reverse is true if the cold water line is leaking. A plumber can look through the camera and not only tell where the leak is located, but can also tell if it is the hot or cold water line that has a problem. The temperature of the water is absorbed by the wall or floor of your home and this allows the plumber to see water leaks through walls and under flooring. For instance, the color of your kitchen floor should be uniform, but if there is a bright red or orange streak running through it, that could indicate a leak from a hot water line. The same is true for your walls, and a dark blue color along the wall could indicate a cold water leak behind the