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Drones with thermal camera revolutionize property maintenance

It can take a long time before thermal or water leaks in a roof are detected. Sometimes a leak isn’t discovered until water starts dripping onto your keyboard. Drones with thermal camera offer a new, revolutionary method of roof inspection.

Drone med infrarødt kamera er en revolution inden for ejendomsbranchen | Coor

Coor is the first facility management provider in the Nordics to use this method with thermal drones. “We can detect all leaks in a 40,000 sq m roof with centimeter precision. No other method can achieve this,” says Morgan Lundberg, site manager at Coor.

Thermal cameras have many application areas. In the military it is not unusual to equip helicopters with cameras to locate thermal anomalies in the dark. Firefighters use thermal cameras to detect hidden fires or to locate victims through heavy smoke.

Innovative property maintenance

Morgan Lundberg recognized a completely different application area for thermal cameras - they can be combined with drones and facilitate property maintenance. Drones with thermal camera could revolutionize the way roof inspections are carried out in the future. “A drone equipped with a thermal camera can be used to detect water and thermal leaks in buildings by flying the drone over the roof and registering temperature anomalies with centimeter precision. This method was developed to detect leaks in district heating pipes and has not previously been tested on buildings. I believe we’re the first in the Nordics, maybe even in Europe, to do this,” says Lundberg.

The results have exceeded all expectations. It takes no more than two hours to analyze a 40,000 sq m roof. In the past this was a time-consuming and complex process that relied on the human eye and qualified guesswork. “The three flights we have carried out so far using thermal drones have given excellent results and one hundred percent accuracy. The beauty of it is that we can quickly inspect very large areas with accurate results at a relatively low cost,” Lundberg says.

Unlike in previously used methods, there is no need to use guesswork to detect the leak’s location. This simplifies property maintenance and saves considerable time, money and effort. “Several of our customers have thanked us for detecting leaks that nobody knew existed. In one case, we discovered a leak 30 meters away that would have been impossible to detect without this method,” Lundberg explains.

He points out that the method also offers financial benefits by allowing faults to be detected during the warranty period and preventing errors when planning the building’s budget. After a roof has been relaid, an aerial inspection can be carried out after six months to identify any faults, such as faulty seams, before the warranty expires.

Converting a building is a costly process. The cost can be alleviated by using an analysis of the building’s current condition as a basis for budgeting and investments. “Now we can locate project needs down to the last centimeter to prevent unnecessary costs,” says Lundberg.

A bright future for thermal drones

“I am convinced this will become a competitive method. It will be popular because of the accuracy and cost savings it offers. The possibilities are endless. Drones with thermal camera have great potential and it’s up to us to explore the possible applications,” he says.

How the method works

Other applications in which thermal imaging cameras can be used:

  • Gas leak detection
  • 3D building modeling
  • Miscellaneous outdoor inspections
  • Road construction, measurement of height discrepancies prior to leveling
  • Detection of thermal hotspots in places where there is a fire risk (e.g. landfill sites)
  • Prevention of financial loss due to incorrect location of heat-reflective glass façades