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12. Taking measurements
In order to obtain precise measured values, the measuring instrument must be adjusted to the
ambient temperature. Allow the device to adjust to the ambient temperature after relocation.
Lengthy IR measurements of high temperatures at a small measuring distance cause self-heating
of the measuring instrument and thus an inaccurate measurement. In order to obtain precise
measured values, remember the following rule of thumb: The higher the temperature, the greater
the measuring distance and the shorter the measuring time.
Shiny surfaces affect the IR measurement results. To compensate, the shiny part of the surface can be
covered with adhesive tape or matt black paint. In this case, the emission level must always be adjusted
to the surface to be measured. The device cannot measure through transparent surfaces such as glass.
Instead, it measures the surface temperature of the glass.
a) Function
Infrared thermal imaging cameras measure the surface temperature of an object and indicate these temperature
distributions with false colour photography.
The IR detector records the heat radiation emitted, reflected and transmitted through the object and converts this
information into a temperature value. The measuring instrument has a built-in detector with a resolution of 80 x 60
pixels. This means that the detector records 80 x 60 temperature points in one measurement.
The emission level is a value used to describe the energy radiation characteristics of a material. The higher this value,
the more radiation a material can emit.
Many organic materials and surfaces have an emission level of approx. 0.95. Metallic surfaces or shiny materials
have a lower emission level. This will cause an inaccurate reading. For this reason, a matt black layer of paint or
matt adhesive tape should be applied to metallic shiny surfaces or the emission level should be preset accordingly.
The IR lens (7) is at the front of the device. Clean the lens with a soft cloth for lenses (eyeglass cleaning cloth, etc.).
This prevents damage or soiling of the lens.
The IR camera lens has a 50° x 38° field of view (FOV).
b) Carrying out IR measurement
• Turn on the camera. It takes approx. four seconds for the detector to be calibrated.
The calibration process is identifiable by a short click sound. Calibration is also carried out regularly during
measurement. This helps the detector to retain its accuracy over longer measuring phases. During the
calibration procedure, the detector is covered internally and no temperature updates are carried out (frozen
image).
• As soon as the initialisation is completed, the thermal image is displayed with false colours. The measurement is
carried out continuously with an update rate of <9 Hz.
• The colour palettes, the temperature unit and the emission level can be set in the settings menu as desired. Preset
values are colour palette 1, degrees Celsius and emission level 0.95.
• The display shows the measured value for the centre of the image. Min and Max markers can automatically meas-
ure and mark temperature peaks depending on the setting.
• Turn off the measuring instrument once the measurement is completed.
