Klein Tools TI250 Rechargeable Thermal Imaging Camera, Camera Displays Over 1...

To reduce expenses and to help protect the environment, in early 2021 our household started taking a number of measures to cut our energy consumption. Those measures have proven successful: total 2021 electricity consumption in our single-family, detached home in the US SE was about 8,000 kWh (3,200 of which was for HVAC), compared to about 11,000 kWh annual average in previous years. [UPDATE on 1/1/23: our total electricity consumption in 2022 dropped even further to just 5,500 kWh (1,600 of which was for HVAC) for the year. We have HALVED our electricity consumption. Huge savings. This thermal imager continues to operate beautifully. We lend it to friends & family so they can do their own diagnostics to save energy.]We first used our Klein Tools TI250 Rechargeable Thermal Imager to identify where our home’s protective envelop was weak – places where we were losing heat / allowing cold air inside in the winter and losing cool air / allowing heat inside in the summer. The imager revealed problem areas we had suspected, e.g., around windows and doors – areas where we needed to improve weatherstripping. But above all they highlighted an extremely acute problem we hadn’t focused on, namely the 7 recessed lights in our kitchen. In summer, and with those lights off, the thermal imager showed the lights as 7 ultra-bright, fiercely orange circles, though the ceiling all around (under thick insulation) was deep, cool blue. It was ugly, indicating that we had been wasting massive amounts of energy and money for years. We solved this problem (along with a similar problem associated with bathroom fans installed between ceiling and attic) by installing FF130E Recessed Light Covers: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XVPUAO These were easy to put in, sealed with Great Stuff: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KSANBTYWe continue to use the thermal imager from time to time around our house to make sure everything is OK, and we lend it to family and friends.On a sunny day, when pointing the camera toward the outside through a window, we got an interesting, rather spooky surprise. The naked eye revealed no reflection at all in the sun-filled window, but the thermal imager revealed our own images, clear as could be, standing there in that same window, waving at us when we waved at them.Here are some other products we purchased at Amazon that we can recommend to those interested in cutting home energy consumption:Aootek solar lights 120 LEDs with lights reflector, 270 degree Wide Angle, IP65 Waterproof, Security Lights for Front Door, Yard, Garage, Deck (4 pack): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NQ4L1SB , as well as Solar Lights Outdoor,WWimy 210 LED 2500LM Motion Sensor Lights with Remote Control, 3 Heads Security LED Flood Lights, IP65 Waterproof, 270° Wide Angle Illumination Wall Lights with 3 Modes (2 Packs): www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08T9F2MM1 Purchased in August 2021, these lights continue to work well here in the SE, saving us over 150 kWh/year. We shared some of these lights with relatives in the North; they also report that their lights are going strong after a rough winter.STATINT Window Film Privacy One Way Daytime Mirror Static Non-Adhesive Solar Glass Film Heat Control: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W3VCZNF Dramatically reduces amount of direct sunlight, gives privacy by day, and protects from shattering.Kuman KW47-US Electricity Usage Monitor Plug Power Watt Voltage Amps Meter with Digital LCD www.amazon.com/Electricity-Monitor-Voltage-Overload-Protection/dp/B07DPJ3RGB Looking back, we can say that purchasing a Usage Monitor Plug has been one of our wisest and most useful moves, and a very inexpensive one at that.AcuRite Wireless Indoor Outdoor Temperature and Humidity Sensor: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T0K8NXC We got two of these to go with our AcuRite weather station. They allow us to monitor temperature and humidity in four places at once: outside, in our living room, in our crawlspace, and in our unfinished attic. Thanks to these readings, we have established a smarter, more energy-efficient way of ventilating our crawlspace. They also helped us see that our attic needed additional ventilation in the roof, prompting us to purchase the following.4 SEASONS Solar Powered Polycarbonate Vent, Weatherproof Design, Quietly Cools Up to 500 Sq Ft, 400 CFM: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DMSCPJARYB HOME Room Darkening Patio Door Curtain, Hanging Room Divider Screen Insulated Drapes Privacy Wall Panel: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D32DJ2V , as well as RYB HOME Blackout Curtains & Drapes - Total Privacy Thermal Efficiency Backdrop Curtains for Bedroom Room Divider Vertical Blind Living Room Patio Sliding Glass Door: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077SZRBNJGrandekor Blackout Window Blinds and Shades Cordless Cellular Shades: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NWBGVL3

Works well has helped my find leaks on cold lines and windows

It’s one of the least expensive options. The screen is a little slow to refresh, you can’t set a fixed range (it auto-ranges which causes a delay every time the range changes substantially), it’s a little quirky saving and loading images, and the image quality is not great.BUT you can see “hey there’s no insulation in this wall or portion of the ceiling” which is why I needed it.

I just bought this guy to find any thermal leaking issues in our house. It takes a little bit to get used to on how to read the display, and it's important to note that it displays the range that it sees. If the whole room is 120 degrees, it will show it all as "blue" because there's not much fluctuation in temperature.The opposite is also in effect, if you have a very cold bucket of water in range, the rest of the display will show up as hot because it is hotter than the lowest point. The right side has a good indication of the range of temperature.Quick tip, if you hold your finger off to the side while scanning, it will tell you differences relative to your finger.I was easily able to see a section of wall that was missing insulation. But again, to find these spots you may need to take a step back to get more in range. If I focused only on the wall without insulation, it will register it as all "blue" because it's all the same color. But if I included the insulated part in the display, you could see the uninsulated part display as a bright green.Chrome does seem to cause confusion with readings. But I imagine it is like that for many thermal imagining devices. It only reads the surface temperature, so don't expect xray vision like the movies show (especially for 300 dollars)Pros:AccurateReliablePortableWide range of temperaturePretty clear displayGood rangeCons:Very small (which isnt necessarily bad)Overall, I enjoyed it. It quickly found what I was looking for, and I had fun tracking other heat sources as well. It clearly identified me as I ran out about 60 feet away.

I was trying to track down all the places I was loosing heat in my house. You know all the drafts from poorly sealed windows or gaps in insulation. For the price it's been great and has helped give me a good picture of what I need to address. The temperature reading seems to be shockingly accurate too. I was just expecting a pixilated blob visualization of hot and cold spots but the images are of decent quality and temperatures from room temp through at least 500 degrees seems to measure accurately when compared with my IR thermometer. Since then I have used it for all sorts of other purposes. It's a great tool to have that I could never have justified had it not been so cheap.

While the screen has very limited resolution, it serves it's purpose well. It's a solid-built product with all the expected features for basic thermal imaging. If you've never used one of these, you might be surprised by the low image quality. I used a 64Gb microSD card, and it worked well, but you have to "format" the card through the system menu. This will take an awkwardly long time for bigger SD cards. If you don't have a $1,000 to spend on a thermal camera, but need one, this will do just fine!