Can Flir Cameras See Through Walls

We often get asked if a thermal camera will be able to see through a wall.

Can flir cameras 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. Walls top down triangular shape formed as water spreads downwards. The answer to this question depends on what we mean by the word see the way a good infrared camera works does give us information about what is going on behind certain materials particularly drywall. That s what the seek thermal camera does.

A thermal imaging camera cannot see moisture in walls but it can detect subtle temperature differences and patterns that reveal the existence of water. Walls are generally thick enough and insulated enough to block any infrared radiation from the other side. Flir one a thermal imaging camera attachment to your iphone or android smartphone is designed to let you peer deep into impenetrable places like walls and through the pitch black darkness of night. The short answer is no except in extreme cirumstances.

If you point a thermal camera at a wall it will detect heat from the wall not what s behind it. To be more accurate it registers motion inside closed spaces. In the beginning of 2015 usa today launched a wave of publications on a handheld radar called range r that has been used by the u s. Police now see through walls and know if you re home.

As most walls are thick to keep a building insulated a thermal camera has no way of picking up on the heat on the other side of the wall. The radar system is able to see through the walls. The range r is a piece of military equipment that police are using now to check if there s someone in a building. Moisture in buildings usually spreads in a recognizable pattern depending on where the water is.

They can t see through walls. No thermal cameras cannot see through walls at least not like in the movies.