As I have posted about a specific tech related item (Thermal Cameras), I have come across this thought as one of the replies included a statement to the effect of (not exact quote, apologies), "People don’t generally understand thermals capabilities or limitations.
I know that many problems occur in perception thanks to movies and entertainment making it seem like the police can scan your fingerprints and then use a 3d hologram projector and chat GPT to scour every closed circuit camera in the world and identify a criminal within 45 minutes of said mystery, all while selling you cheaper car insurance and your next favorite beverage.
So.
How do you all set realistic expectations when using tech that 1) helps us better our reporting and 2) does mean that we may go “above and beyond” our SOP. So that we avoid potential accusations of “You should have caught XYZ problem because you used fancy thingamabobber”.
Thanks in advance for your help as we encourage one another to grow and help others start in a better place than perhaps we were at the beginning.
A home inspection is not technically exhaustive, meaning an investigation that involves dismantling, the extensive use of advanced techniques, measurements, instruments, testing, calculations, or other means. Personally, I repeatedly put the following clause in my contracts and reports, “Any reported condition that exceeds minimum requirements are reported as a courtesy to the clients only.”
Using IR for home inspecting is a slippery slope. I don’t report on its use. If I use IR, I confirm the condition visually or in another manner, and that is what goes into my report.
In the unlikely situation where I use it for insulation, I confirm the condition visually. The visual image of the insulation issue goes into my report. The IR image does not.
If by good fortune conditions are right to detect moisture using IR, I confirm with a moisture meter. The moisture meter picture goes into my report. The IR image does not.
For in floor heat, no IR images in my report. I simply have a check on my report; heat present in all rooms. Noone ever asked me how I confirmed that.
IR always requires confirmation by another manner. Reporting only the confirmation is how I manage my liability. My use of IR during a home inspection is my secret. I put my imager away in my truck before the client arrives for the walk through.
Be sure to set expectations up front. Many people are under the assumption that because an inspector uses thermal imaging to inspect, that they can see through walls and other objects. I had a potential client once tell me he had an inspector tell him he didn’t need to go in the attic because he could tell how much insulation was up there by using his TI camera. LOL
Be careful with your advertising. For example, instead of “Free thermal scan with every inspection,” choose to describe what a thermal camera does, and its limitations. Or perhaps list your thermal imaging credentials. Therefore you will not have to defend your “free thermal scan” against a customers misperceptions or ignorance. Also, @msenty makes great points about how to use these tools without stepping in the poo poo.
You should have disclaimers in your report and agreement regarding the capabilities and limitations of thermal imaging. Playing devil’s advocate, I would argue that thermal has saved my hide more times than it has hurt me. I believe it LOWERS your liability, definitely does not increase it. Set the proper expectations with your client. In order to do that, you really must have proper training on the science behind the camera and how to properly interpret what you are seeing.
Agree wholeheartedly. Here is what I put in the report to set the proper expectations:
Thermal Images in Your Report
An infrared thermal imaging camera may have been utilized in a limited fashion as an alternative means of looking for possible temperature anomalies with specific appliances and systems. The degree that any anomalies were detected was limited to whether there were other visual clues pointing to a possible problem to further investigate and a condition generating a temperature difference was actually present and detectable by a thermal camera at the time of inspection. A full thermal scan of the entire home was not performed.