Unique design is a hallmark of the US Green Building Council’s annual conference and expo. This year the conference and Greenbuild expo were held in an unseasonably delightful Washington DC. As thousands of architects, contractors, and designers were swarming the Washington Convention Center, we grabbed a FLIR T420 thermal camera to capture the action from … Continue reading
The FLIR E8 Thermal Camera stands out among current thermal camera offerings in one very important way: it offers 320 x 240 resolution for thousands of dollars less than other available cameras. To be sure, the FLIR E8 does not offer all of the features that some users will need, but in terms of outright … Continue reading
The Energy Conservatory TEC WiFi Link might just be your perfect second manometer, without being a manometer at all. Here’s how. A customer called needing a manometer to check building pressures. He already has an Energy Conservatory DG-700 with his Minneapolis Blower Door, but wanted a second manometer for occasionally troubleshooting building depressurization. That’s a … Continue reading
We recently came across an article that provides an excellent summary of water damage in walls. Self-proclaimed Energy Nerd and all-around green building guru Martin Holladay takes a look at the building conditions and installation errors that most often lead to unsightly and unsafe wall structures. Accompanied by insightful (and frightful) photography, the article identifies … Continue reading
Here’s a short list of our favorite thermal imagers for locating moisture and mold in buildings. For more on finding water damage, see our article Moisture Detection with Thermal Imagers. Or for more about choosing an infrared camera, or to better understand some of the camera features below, take a look at Choosing a Thermal … Continue reading
Weeks after Hurricane Sandy, much of the Mid-Atlantic and New England are still coping with the effects of widespread flooding and water damage. As homeowners and restoration contractors sprint to make buildings habitable and healthy again, the unseen water and mold will remain one of the greatest obstacles. Diagnosing and remediating water issues right away … Continue reading
Ivy Tools is fortunate to have a close relationship with the emerging home performance industry. We’re often asked about the credentialing process and what it means for an individual or business to be BPI certified. Briefly, the Building Performance Institute, BPI, is an independent, not-for-profit organization which focuses on developing the home performance industry in … Continue reading
In recent months several articles concerning the housing recovery have caught my eye. Together they paint a portrait of a housing market that is finally recovering from almost seven years of recession. But it’s a different kind of recovery. And the house being “recovered” is a different kind of house than was being built before … Continue reading
The many applications of infrared technology are evolving at a tremendous pace. The infrared thermal imager is currently used in everything from home repair to monitoring volcanoes, tracking forest fires to plumbing leaks, HVAC to auto repair. What can you use infrared for? The simple answer is, any situation in which you need to visualize … Continue reading
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