By Peter Brooks President, Infra-red Analyzers Published in New England Real Estate Journal, November 2011

Vector Mapping Eliminates Guesswork

When there is an active roof leak or water intrusion, the low-slope roof system should be thoroughly investigated to locate and eliminate all sources of water leakage. Until recently, only indirect, hit-or-miss methods were available to verify the integrity of installed roofing membranes. With a new electronic leak detection technology called Vector Mapping, it’s now possible to positively identify all the breaches in a roof system, even those invisible to the naked eye. Compared to traditional methods of visual inspection and flood testing, this breakthrough technology saves building owners and managers significant risk, time, and money.

Vector mapping pinpoints leaks by tracing the flow of an electric current across the surface of the roof membrane. Because vector mapping detects membrane faults directly, repairs can be made on the spot and immediately retested to ensure watertight results.

High voltage vector mapping can be performed on both horizontal and vertical surfaces.

High voltage wand electrode is used to test watertightness of flashings.

High voltage Vector Mapping is conducted on dry horizontal or vertical surfaces using a small current at relatively high voltage for safe and reliable testing. As the technician sweeps an electrode brush over the membrane surface, electricity will flow through any breach in the membrane, completing a circuit between the brush and the roof deck. In either method, membrane areas that are sound will act as an insulator and prevent the flow of current to the deck, thus verifying membrane integrity.

Infrared Pinpoints Air Leaks

In most cases, air leakage through the building envelope is the largest source of energy loss and occupant discomfort. A report by the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) found that air “infiltration in commercial buildings can have many negative consequences including reduced thermal comfort, interference with the proper operation of mechanical ventilation systems, degraded indoor air quality, moisture damage of building envelope components and increased energy consumption.”

Leaking air escalates the "stack effect", convection-generated air movement inside buildings that increases with the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures. With a leaky building envelope, stack effect causes drafts and erratic indoor temperatures and can make some zones difficult or impossible to heat comfortably.

Significant faults in a building's envelope can often be pinpointed with infrared thermography. Finely calibrated heat-seeking infrared cameras, sometimes supplemented with blower door testing, will reveal details of the building's thermal performance in "real time". Our experienced Certified Thermographers and analysts use the data generated to identify the most appropriate and cost-effective measures to solve building envelope problems and slash client energy costs.

Professional application of developing technologies like Vector Mapping and Infrared Thermography give contractors, architects, engineers and building owners more accurate information about building performance while reducing troubleshooting, repair, and energy costs - a win-win for everyone concerned!