Can Thermal Imaging See Through Walls

Walls are generally thick enough and insulated enough to block any infrared radiation from the other side.

Can thermal imaging see through walls.

Thermal imaging cameras can be used to gather information about the inside of a wall but they cannot see through walls. To understand this one needs to know how infrared thermal imaging works. The colors we see everyday are between the uv and ir on the spectrum outside that tiny portion of the light spectrum the light is invisible to use. The range r is a piece of military equipment that police are using now to check if there s someone in a building.

Thermal imaging devices can t see through walls. Imagine plugging a pocket sized camera device into your smart phone and then being able to see leaky pipes or ductwork inside walls. It may see the heat coming from a house but it can t see into the house because the camera picks up the house s exterior thermal image first. Using other instruments should always be used to confirm the problem.

When focused on a building they identify the parts of a structure that give off more or less heat than others. The common misconception is that thermal camera can see heat and nothing else therefore if there is a heat source behind a wall or solid object it should pick up the heat. Thermal imaging has also been used to improve energy conservation. Humans can only see the tiny visible portion of the light spectrum.

Though thermal imaging previously required special gear costing thousands of dollars the seek thermal camera sells for from about 199 to 250 and is available. If you point a thermal camera at a wall it will detect heat from the wall not what s behind it. It is also important to know that thermal imaging cameras should not be used as the only deciding factor that a problem exists. That s what the seek thermal camera does.

No thermal camera can see through a wall or any solid object. No thermal cameras cannot see through walls at least not like in the movies. In fact the thermal imaging doesn t even see through glass because the glass has its own thermal profile. Police now see through walls and know if you re home.

Infrared light is part of the invisible light spectrum. But pointing a thermal camera at a building still reveals sensitive information about what s going on inside.