With other editors and some interesting customers, I attended the Fluke Press Summit last week. Since I was already pretty familiar with their test equipment (I was an early adopter of the 8020A-- bought mine in the first year they were sold) the stuff that interested me the most was the thermal imaging products. I have been fascinated by thermography ever since I first learned about it, and the ease-of-use and sophistication of the newest thermal image cameras by Fluke really impressed me.
They also impressed my fiance, Joy Ward, who is also a writer and a consumer psychologist, who Fluke was gracious enough to invite as well. She went home and penned the following article on the use of thermal imaging in residential rehab and remodeling. Her points are well taken, and the companies like FLIR and Fluke that make easy to use cameras might well listen to her.
Infrared Thermal Imaging Use in Residential Buildings: A Sleeping Financial Giant
by Joy Ward
Infrared Thermal Imaging use in residential homes is the financial sleeping giant of the thermography family. It is vastly underutilized by potential customers, including construction companies, rehabbers, realtors, homeowners and buyers. Millions, perhaps billions, of dollars are being left "on the table" by manufacturers and distributors not effectively targeting their marketing efforts. The first manufacturer to wake this sleeping giant will reap significant market share and even more significant profits.
Background Information
Infrared Cameras, Inc. defines an Infrared Thermal Imager as:
Infrared Thermal Imager - An Instrument or system that converts incoming infrared radiant energy from a target surface to a thermal map, or thermogram, on which color hues or gray shades can be related to the temperature distribution on that surface.
Infrared technology has been used for a variety of purposes over the last few decades, including defense and medical imaging. But there has always been both a promise of greater purposing as well as a counterbalance of high costs to deter that use expansion. The relatively high cost of individual units has served to slow down the use of thermography in the consumer market. As the price of units drops, the potential consumer market will open up exponentially.
The commercial and industrial uses of infrared imaging are well known and marketed. Therefore the focus of this article will be on the apparnetly underutilized residential market for thermal imaging services.
Residential uses for infrared and thermal imaging
The potential uses for imaging in the residential market include:
• Air conditioning and heating leakage - identify where homes are leaking air conditioning and heating to enable effective insulation efforts
• Finding water seepage in damp foundations - water seepage can be insidious and hard to pinpoint. Thermal imaging can quickly find the source of water problems.
• Identify electrical problems before they become deadly - One of the main causes of home fires is overloaded or faulty electrical systems. Thermal imaging can discover overloaded electrical boxes and outlets before they cause deadly house fires.
• Prevent entrance of airborne contaminants that would aggravate asthma events in children and adults - Asthma can limit the lifestyles of those who suffer from this disease. It can also kill sufferers, Thermal imaging can improve their lives by identifying where these contaminants are entering the home.
• Shine a light on pest entrances and trails - Thermal imaging can be used to find where insects are entering homes and their trails.
• Identify hidden mold and its sources in homes - Thermal imaging can bring hidden mold locations into the light, thereby enabling homeowners to protect their families and themselves from its toxic effects.
Residential thermal imaging inspectors use handheld devices that allow them to identify dangerous and costly building problems. "Habitat for Humanity" crews routinely use these devices during their building and renovation efforts.
Potential market growth in commercial sales for residential use
A recent report by the Flir corporation, a major manufacturer of thermal imaging and temperature measurement equipment, reports that the total market for this equipment was $1.1 billion in 2008. This figure includes all thermal imaging uses. The largest profit centers, at least for Flir, appear to be in currently in the governmental segments but the real potential growth is in the commercial market, according to the same report.
Why is this market ready to take off? Sales of detector units such as those used to inspect homes are up by 90% since 2005. The sales growth has been attributed to decreasing costs for the units. Detector unit prices have dropped by 30% since 2005 due to leveraged production costs. The result is that individual units have become easier to use and more effective while dropping in price from $10, 000 plus to as low as $1000. That means that rehabbers and others can afford their own units to add to their business offerings. They can quickly recoup their investments with affordable rates for imaging services. Not only have the prices come down but the user friendliness of thermal imaging cameras has increased dramatically over the past ten years.
Home sales have been soft since the beginning of the recent recession but rehabbing and renovations have stayed strong according to Bloomberg Businessweek. The weakest sales across the US have been among new homes. Existing home sales have dropped but they have not hit as deep a bottom as new homes. But old and older homes require upkeep and repairs. This is the perfect time to introduce thermal imaging services aimed directly at the residential renovations market. Homeowners can protect their lives and investments as they care for their homes. A thermal imaging inspection can identify threats to theirs and their families' lives from overloaded electrical outlets and boxes, as well as entrances for asthma stimulants and disease-carrying pests, and sources of dangerous mold. Realtors can also be taught how thermal imaging can protect their clients when buying homes, no matter how new or how old.
The greatest growth factor may simply be the fact that there has been very little strong marketing to consumers. While some consumers may have heard of thermal imaging as a way to make their homes more energy efficient and "green," very few have heard or understand the other benefits of having their homes imaged. Any manufacturer that can make the connection for consumers AND link their brand to those benefits will be in place to be the market leader.
So as costs drop for imaging services and energy costs go "through the roof" it becomes much more cost effective for consumers to pay the falling imaging fees. A relatively inexpensive imaging fee of several hundred dollars could protect home buyers from paying thousands in new home repairs. A thermal image inspection could also accutely pinpoint the source of certain problems, allowing homeowners to avoid paying for "hit and miss" solutions and to pay for only needed repairs. And in a soft housing market, providing a thermal imaging report may add a few hundred to a few thousand dollars to the final price of a home for sale.
Opportunity
The Infrared Thermometer residential market is ready to grow. With falling unit costs we should expect to see one manufacturer ake the lead in making their brand THE brand for consumers.
How will that manufacturer become the market leader? Imaging manufacturers like Flir and Fluke can win market share by enacting a "pull" marketing strategy. Some of the tactics under such a strategy could include:
• Contract for research to identify the basic consumer message - Currently the marketing messages and outreaches are targeted to people "in the know" such as engineers and others who are already familiar with the terminology and usage of thermal imaging. Hence, web sites and other advertising venues are tech-speak heavy. The average homeowner can easily become dazed by the technology and not realize the real value of thermal imaging. It can save their lives in numerous ways yet that crucial fact is rarely emphasized. Imaging marketers need to know how to effectively fet their message across to non-tech savvy consumers.
• Reach out to the national and local influencers - Identify the people and programs that have a national impact on consumers concerned with their homes. Once identified then make a major effort to forge a strong relationship. This would include web and television programs as well as home-building and -rehabbing organizations. Also identify local groups that serve homeowners and homebuyers. Make understandable literature available to them so they understand the value of having their homes imaged. Currently there is very little consumer-friendly literature in the marketplace. Most of the literature appears to be written by and for engineers and others already thermal imaging savvy.
• Realtors at both local and national levels should be targeted to encourage their clients to have their homes imaged. With falling unit costs the price of an individual session should be seen as much less expensive in comparison to what could be wrong with a potential home. Incentivize realtors by giving them literature they can use to promote their businesses and reputations as more energy and safety savvy than their competition, After all, realtors who encourage or require thermal imaging audits are more likely to protect their clients' money and safety by having the potential homes inspected with an imager. Realtors who require thermal image audits could even be listed on the manufacturer's web site so potential clients can find them more easily.
• Add consumer friendly pages to current manufacturer web sites - Make imaging sessions more accessible to consumers by adding user friendly pages that explain the process and the benefits of thermal imaging for homes. Also, include links to local imaging specialists so that consumers do not have to search for them. This does two things. First, this makes it easier for consumers and, second, it gives the manufacturer a chance to funnel consumers to those providers who use their devices, thereby adding value to the device purchasing decision.
Wake the Giant!
There are many other ways to reach out to consumers and these are just the beginning of what is possible.The residential thermal imaging market is ready to explode and the manufacturer who jumps in the lead in consumer outreach will reap great profits and be set to continue those profits into the future.
Leaders relevant to this article: