Wolfgang Böttcher owns a thermography consultancy agency that specialises in thermal imaging building diagnostics.

Using his thermal camera he performs energy audits. A Display Energy Certificate (DEC) in the UK is an essential requirement for all public buildings with a floor area over 1,000m2 and is a printed report that shows the actual energy usage of a building/office/structure.

Performing these audits allows Böttcher to find the weak spots in energy expenditure and allows his clients to improve their energy consumption.
Böttcher tells his clients that the use of a thermal imaging camera can quickly identify and diagnose issues that are causing problems in buildings such as, water leakage and condensation.

“We use it to estimate the damage to a building caused by water leakage or condensation. When moisture gets into the building envelope it can even damage the structural integrity. With our FLIR thermal camera we can spot the moisture and find a solution.”

Böttcher uses the Flir B660 camera as he needs the 45° angle lens with a wide field of view allowing him to cover an entire building whilst standing fairly close. This means he doesn’t have the problem of standing at a distance where other buildings can get in the way and make it difficult to perform energy audits accurately. He also uses a telephoto lens to identify and highlight small details.

“FLIR is the only thermal camera producer that delivers this good a camera with these kinds of lenses.”

Böttcher ‘s B660 Thermal camera also has Contrast optimisation which is a special feature that used to be reserved for military thermal cameras and will automatically adjust to the brightness and contrast settings to bring out small details.

Böttcher also often uses the picture in picture feature to show clients where the problem is in a simple and easy way for them to understand.

If you would like more information on the camera that Böttcher uses or would like to find out about training courses, visit the Thermal Imaging Camera and Electrical Training Course sites.

Written by Sara Thomson