Drones are going to be used in many industries in the years to come, way more than what you think.
Will drones be delivering packages? I don't know. Currently a drone in between .5 lb and 55 lbs cannot be flown if it is out of our line of sight. You would be hard pressed to flight a drone two towns over and maintain line of sight. Oh and by the way no help of anything to enhance vision can be used according to the FAA. A drone inspection can reveal so much more information we could not see in the past. Drone inspections can be performed on roofs, construction sites, water towers, electrical towers, stacks, walls, siding, water treatment, agriculture, condominiums, townhouses, factories, commercial buildings and all of these can have infrared imaging.
Drone water tower inspectionDrone construction site inspectionDrone agriculture inspection
A drone inspection is done to discover and plan for the future. At Drone Infrared Imaging, we can inspect whatever property, building, obstacle or object that you may need inspected. Drone inspections are especially useful for bigger complexes but certainly not limited to them.
Infrared leak detection is a smart way to see how your roof is doing, EVEN IF IT IS NOT LEAKING!
Owners, property managers, entrepreneurs and companies usually take the same approach, if my roof isn't leaking we are good. Not smart. The smart money is on having an infrared done today by Drone Infrared Imaging to see how your roof is doing.
We are heading into the wintertime months, which are going to accentuate every roof leak, even the small ones. What is going to happen is the small amount of water that is getting under the roof is going to freeze and blow your seams apart causing big leaks. This doesn't have to happen.
See complete report for this roof: Infrared Roof Report The contractor installed 5 different types of roofing on this building on purpose to see how they would perform.
The above picture taken from an infrared drone indicates a leak by a skylight. The roof overall should cool down the same temperature at night, this small area by the skylight remained hotter than the rest of the roof.Infrared leak detection is not just for roofs
Note that leak detection does not have to be localized to just roofing. It can be used on any surface that has radiant heat emitted from it. Walls for instance is a good example. Many times leaks are improperly diagnosed because the point of origin is not the point at which the moisture gets into the building. The infrared drone can capture images and or video which take the guess-work out of it.
Infrared imaging on a rainy, windy day
So what does an infrared drone guy do on a rainy windy day... practice. Happily Flir in conjunction with DJI has upgraded their camera and software to give so many more options. All the colors and palettes become more vivid and dynamic. You can even tell how hot your cup of coffee is if you have your drone fired up and running (no propellers) and facing yourself. The Starbucks coffee was 140 degrees when I first set it on the desk. Within the first 10 minutes it decreased 20 degrees. Enough about coffee.
Infrared Drone Uses
The use of drones and infrared imaging are growing. A lot of people don't even realize how useful it can be. I recently had my DJI Inspire Pro with the XT Flir camera flying over a commercial building. Now I didn't know were the leaks on the building were, but after careful examination I circled areas of concern on the infrared and presented this to the owner. Surprise surprise the areas that I circled on the infrared turned out to be close to the leak areas on the building. Now the owner is educated about his roof leaks on his building and a roofing contractor can come out and accurately repair the roof.
Hvac contractors can use infrared to see how hot the units are running and believe me some run very hot compared to others (see picture above, two units running hotter).
Electric companies can inspect transformers and any other part of the electrical systems to find out what is operating inefficiently. Any type of piping that runs on the outside of a building can be inspected.
Cellular towers can be inspected.
Search and rescue, especially at night reveal vivid pictures of human being trying to hide or run from something.
The energy efficiency of any building can be determined.
PIC AND AN INFRARED DRONE
PIC used to stand for Picture. No longer, the FAA has taken it for there very own. It stands for Pilot in Command. The FAA wants every person that is going to fly commercially to be trained. Flying without an Airman Certificate is Illegal. That's why everyone at Drone Infrared Imaging must pass the Aeronautical Knowledge Test before they fly. If nothing else its gets you to think about more than just picking up a controller and taking off. There is a lot to think about, like the weather, obstacles, wind current around buildings, aircraft, line of sight, visual observer, magnetic fields, down drafts, updrafts and the like. Our ultimate goal is to be safe. An infrared drone is a very expensive proposition and believe me we don't want anything to happen to it.
Airspace
Yes we have to share airspace. The above images were taken in Class D airspace. Because the airport has a Control Tower, they had to be contacted so we could get permission to fly. It is a little bit of a hassle to actually speak to the tower, however the overall process was quite painless. They gave permission and we were able to fly.
https://www.droneinfraredimaging.com/infrared-scans/
BASIC PRACTICAL RULES FOR ROOF SAFETYIf it looks unsafe it probably is unsafe. I don't know how many times we have been on job sites to see obvious glaring violations. The worst is when the owner comes on the roof and they can tell the violations without knowing the violations. Point being make sure your roof projects look safe! One final note here, if your job site looks crappy even though you are safe, it gives the appearance of being unsafe. Let's keep job sites cleaned up.
Roof safety should be taught and caught. Don't get caught in the trap of, well we didn't have many accidents last year so let's skimp on safety this year. It always works out bad. Having Drone Infrared Imaging capture pictures and video from your projects to use in the roof safety class room is priceless. Not only to point out the things that need correcting but hopefully to point out perfectly staged job sites.
When safety equipment looks old, it looks unsafe. Yes I know some of us are conservative and we like to use things until it dies but let's try to stay clear of doing that regarding safety.
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION..
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A little precaution before a crisis occurs is preferable to a lot of fixing up afterward. Roof safety can prevent a lot of personal injuries. It can also prevent the ultimate tragedy which is loss of life. Workman's compensation claims can cost a tremendous amount of money and can drag on for years. If there is time given in the class room with pictures from Drone Infrared Imaging, that's a great start. After that having tool box talks with your guys on a weekly basis. One more thing, your foreman should be very safety conscious and as a result should hold all the guys under his care to a high standard of safety. BE SAFE!
Drones provide quick infrared results
There are many ways to evaluate a commercial building. One way is to do a visual inspection by walking the entire roof. Another is taking core samples of various areas of the roof. Still another is through aerial photography. If a professional roofer is able to look at an aerial detailed picture, many areas diagnosis can be given just from the picture alone. Probably the most promising is to do an infrared scan of the roof. Some infrared cameras even allow you to take video. Isn't technology wonderful. After getting to the facility and mapping out a plan, making sure it is safe to fly, it is only a matter of 15 minutes and the infrared drone can be up and flying over the facility. There is so much information that can be gained from the infrared pictures and video.
Discover roof leaks, heat duct leaks and energy deficiencies
It is important to note, not all roof types can have an infrared scan. If the roof is scanned for leaks, roof leaks will be obvious. Roof leaks will allow water to saturate into the insulation causing those areas to be hotter as emissivity is happening. Emissivity is the ability of a surface like a roof to emit radiate energy. Roofs during the warming of the sun can cause some roofs to get to 180 degrees. If a roof is dry and free of leaks, emissivity will happen consistently across the roof. Wet insulation under the roof will cause the radiant heat of the roof to stay hot.
Some HVAC units are equipped with side mount discharge, meaning the duct comes out of the side of the unit. These ducts can also be tested for leaks through the infrared scan.
Lastly the roof can be scanned to discover potential energy deficiencies. For example, over time the roof insulation shrinks causing gaps under the roof membrane. These areas can be detected through an infrared scan. If it is cold outside and the building is being heated then the lines along the edges of the insulation will test hotter because the hot air is trying to escape.
To learn more about emissivity go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75PmF7KLf4A
ROOFS LEAK!
When do people usually take care of their roofs... when they leak! There is another alternative. Taking care of roof begins with a good inspection to access to see if there is any damage. Buildings that are over two stories tend to get neglected the most. Every storm has the potential to blow off one shingle, chimney cap, ridge cap or exhaust vent. Would you want to know if these are missing and schedule to fix them before it leaked into the plywood, then onto the insulation and finally through the drywall. I believe the answer would be... YES.
PROPERTY MANAGER INSIGHT
Commercial flat roofs can experience the same kinds of damage. Actually flat roofs are more susceptible to larger roof blow offs that are shingle roofs. Inspections are a good way to know for sure that your roof is safe and secure. At Drone Infrared Imaging, we can put a drone in air and quickly assess damages. Property managers especially need to be in the know. Dealing with complains all day is exhausting for property managers. Wouldn't it be great to know your roof is safe and secure thus eliminating that headache.
DRONE INSPECTION
We recommend have properties inspected at least 2-4 times a year with possible drone inspection right after a severe storm. The drone can take pictures of every aspect of the building, not just the roof. Drones have the ability to capture pictures like a 3-D. So the perspective is different from a straight up google earth picture (although they are starting to use some 3-D). To be able to see if there is soffit or fascia torn off or gutters missing or plugged can save money in the long run. How can it save you money? By being able to fix the issues before it causes inside damage. Inside damage is costly to fix, so anytime this can be avoided, it will be beneficial for all involved.
Airspace
Yes we have to share airspace. The above images were taken in Class D airspace. Because the airport has a Control Tower, they had to be contacted so we could get permission to fly. It is a little bit of a hassle to actually speak to the tower, however the overall process was quite painless. They gave permission and we were able to fly.
