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| Thermal Leak Detector |
It's a lot of fun to walk around the house measuring all over the place. I discovered some unlikely leaks in my house. How to fix the leaks is a whole different matter. Black & Decker includes a small booklet on common repairs that might help. There's nothing really magic in there, calk, expandable foam, weather stripping, and insulation in the attic. The key is identifying the leaks and finding a way to slow them down. It's easy to imagine this will pay for itself in energy savings.
I also like this because it can be used for other things. I have built a few PC's; this is the perfect thing to find out where the real heat is in my computer cabinet. I'm sure there are other remote temperature sensing jobs this would be great at. The functional temperature range is -22 to 302 degrees F. The temperature accuracy is +/- 5 degrees at 32 degrees F, +/- 2.5 at 73 degrees F (the sweet spot this device would be used the most), and +/- 4 at 212 degrees F. For an infrared temperature sensor, this is not bad. Temperatures read out to 0.1 degrees F. The unit can be switched to degrees C with a slider switch inside the battery compartment.
It's kind of surprising; the unit is not shipped with a battery. The packaging is eco friendly, all cardboard, save one tiny plastic strip to hang this on pegboards.
Is an amazing, simple, useful tool, with an instruction book. In this case, I decided to open this up and see how easy it is to use without reading the instructions. It's cold outside today, so I had major fun pointing this at all kinds of things in our house.
The Thermal Leak Detector makes it easy to monitor your home's energy efficiency by finding areas that let heat out and cold air in. Simply set the detector's temperature tolerances to one, five, or 10 degrees and scan the light across the area you want to inspect. The light will change to red for warmer spots and blue for cooler spots to detect air leaks in both warm and cool weather. The detector also displays temperatures in either Fahrenheit or Celsius on the LCD screen. Check for drafts or leaks around your fireplace, recessed lighting, electrical outlets, along floor molding, or any place that may have improper seals, caulking, or seams that aren't immediately visible. An included booklet gives you tips and instructions on how to seal leaks and improve insulation.
This couldn't be easier to use, pop in a 9V battery (the battery from the annual smoke detector change is a great idea), aim the unit at some normal warm object in the house (a couch, or an interior wall), press the great big power button, wait until the display reads the temperature and the light shining at the object turns green, then point this thing at everything in the house. When the color of the light changes from green to blue or red, the temperature of where you aimed is five degrees colder (blue) or five degrees warmer (red) than the thing you pointed at in the first place. It's just that simple.
There are a few nuances that the manual helped clear up. The temperature inside the house needs to be fairly different from the exterior either colder or hotter it doesn't matter. All that matters is a temperature difference, the larger the better. There is a little slider knob that adjusts the temperature difference reading - at the top the light does not change color ever, 1 degree F means the light will change color if the first temperature is more than 1 degree different from the temperature currently being read, and 5 degree and 10 degree are just wider spreads. The closer the device is to an object the narrower the reading, or smaller area it will use to determine the temperature. Pretty simple idea, just like a flashlight spreads out wider the farther it shines. If scanning a big area, standing 10 or 20 feet away scans a fairly large area, about 2 or 3 feet around. And lastly, it does not work aimed at shiny objects or clear plastic (if the windows are covered with that clear plastic weather stretch wrap, the unit will read the temperature of the plastic, not the things behind it).
It Cut Energy Bills and Improve Your Home's Efficiency
Sealing the leaks and improving insulation in your home can help you save as much as 20 percent on your heating and cooling bills. An efficient, greener home will stay cooler in summer and warmer in winter, increasing its resale value.
