11/8/2016

InfraredThermometersQuickTips#370GraingerIndustrialSupply

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Infrared Thermometers
QuickTips#370

HandheldInfrared(IR)Thermometersarewidelyusedthroughoutmanyindustriesand
workenvironmentstodeterminesurfacetemperature.Elevatedtemperaturesareoften
thefirstsignoftroubleformechanicalequipment,electricalcircuitsandbuilding
systems.Aquicktemperaturecheckofkeycomponentsandequipmentcandetect
potentialtroubleareasandpreventcatastrophicfailures.TheIRthermometerwas
originallydevelopedtomeasurethetemperatureofanobjectwhereanormalcontact
thermometercouldnotbeusedsuchasonamovingobject,anobjectinavacuum
wheretimesensitivereadingsarerequiredortomeasurethetemperatureofanobject
withlimitedaccess.

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ExplainingtheuseofanIRthermometerbeginsbydefiningwhatthesedevices
measuretodeterminetemperatureinfraredradiation.

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Infraredradiation,orIR,isjustonetypeofradiationthatexistswithinthe
electromagneticspectrum.Additionaltypesofelectromagneticradiationinclude
microwaves,xraysandvisiblelight.Theillustrationbelowshowswavelengthand
frequencyoftheelectromagneticspectrum.

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ThewavelengthofIRraysislongerthanthatofthevisiblespectrumsredrays.Ifwe
couldseeIRraysontheelectromagneticspectrum,theywouldappearjustafterredon
thevisiblespectrum.TheLatininfratranslatesto"below."
IRradiationis,quiteliterally,heat.AlthoughoureyescannotvisiblydetectIR,wecan
surelyfeelit.Wrapyourhandaroundacupofcoffee,takeawalkinbalmyweatheror
enjoysizzlingfriedchicken.Inalloftheseexperiences,youareinteractingdirectlywith
IR.ItisthisIR(heat)thatcanbemeasuredandused.

How is IR used to determine temperature?

AllmatteremitsenergyintheformofIR(heat).Ifthereisatemperaturedifference
betweenobjects,includingthesurroundingenvironment,thenthisgradientcanbe
measuredandused.Iftheobjectinquestionisatthesametemperatureasits
surroundings,thenetradiationenergyexchangewillbezero.Ineithercase,the
characteristicspectrumoftheradiationdependsontheobjectandthesurrounding
absolutetemperature.HandheldIRthermometerstakeadvantageofthis"radiation
dependence"ontemperaturetoproduceavalueforthetargetedobjectandtodisplay
theresultsfortheoperatortoread.
IRlightworkslikevisiblelightitcanbefocused,reflectedorabsorbed.HandheldIR
thermometerstypicallyusealenstofocuslightfromoneobjectontoadetector,called
athermopile.ThethermopileabsorbstheIRradiationandturnsitintoheat.ThemoreIR
energy,thehotterthethermopilegets.Thisheatisturnedintoelectricity.Theelectricity
issenttoadetector,whichusesittodeterminethetemperatureofwhateverthe
thermometerispointedat.Themoreelectricity,thehottertheobject.Thehigherthe
temperature,themoreelectricitysenttothedetector,thehigherthereading.

Handheld Infrared Thermometer Advantages

HandheldIRthermometersarefast,accurateandconvenientidealforremote
monitoring.Thenoncontactfeatureallowstemperaturemeasurementstobetaken
withouttouchingtheproductbeingtested.Thisisnotonlyimportantforthesafetyofthe
workerbutalsolimitspotentialproductcontamination.
Theresponsetime(detectiontodisplay)ofanIRthermometeristypicallyaboutone
halfsecond.Maximummeasuringdistanceisdeterminedbythequalityoftheinternal
opticsandatmosphericconditions.AhandheldIRthermometercanonlymeasurethe
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opticsandatmosphericconditions.AhandheldIRthermometercanonlymeasurethe
surfacetemperatureofanobjectandnottheinternaltemperature.Becausethe
maximummeasuringrangeandaccuracycanbeaffectedbyatmosphericconditions
(watervapororcarbondioxide)themaximumrangeisgenerallylimitedtoapproximately
100feet.

Accuracy
TheaccuracyofthehandheldIRthermometerisprimarilydeterminedbythedistance
tospotratio(D/SRatio).ThisratioisthesizeoftheareabeingevaluatedbytheIR
thermometerasitrelatestodistance.Inotherwords,theareabeingmeasuredbecomes
largerasthedistanceincreases.Thesmallerthetarget,thecloseryoushouldbetoit.
Thisratiowillhaveasignificantimpactontheaccuracyorprecisionofthereading.If
thetargetyouaremeasuringissixinchesinsize,andyourhandheldinfrared
thermometerhasaD/Sratioofeighttoone,thenthemaximumdistanceatwhichyou
canreliablymeasurethetemperatureofthetargetis48inches(8:1x6=48).Beyond
thisdistance,notonlyisthetargetbeingmeasured,butwhateverelsefallswithinthe
"spot"isbeingmeasuredaswell.Thismeansthatifaveryhotobjectisthetarget,and
itisincoolersurroundings,thenmeasurementstakenbeyondthemaximumdistance
willincludecoolerelements,loweringthe"average"ofwhatisinthe"spot."
Asthetargetsizedecreases,orthedistancetothetargetincreases,alargerD/Sratio
becomesnecessary.Usingthesameexampleandchangingfirstthetargetsizeand
thentheD/Sratio,youseethatthisformulahelpsyoudecidethecorrectD/Sratioand,
subsequently,thehandheldIRthermometerforyourneeds:
D/SRatioxTargetSizeor8:1x2=maximummeasuredistanceof16inches
D/SRatioxTargetSizeor12:1x2=maximummeasuredistanceof24inches

D/Sratiosvarygreatly,socarefullycomparethisfeatureofhandheldIRthermometers
whenshopping.ThetwobiggestfactorstoconsiderwhenselectinganIRthermometer
aretheD/Sratioandtemperaturerange.

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ArecentinnovationinIRopticsistheadditionofaclosefocusfeature,whichprovides
accuratemeasurementofsmalltargetareaswithoutincludingunwantedbackground
temperatures.

Handheld Infrared Thermometer Disadvantages

IRthermometersonlymeasuresurfacetemperatureanddonotmeasurethroughglass,
liquidsorothertransparentsurfaces.Theyalsomayrequireadjustmentsdepending
uponthesurfacebeingmeasuredespeciallyifitisahighlyreflectivesurface.IR
thermometerscanbetemporarilyaffectedbyfrost,moisture,dust,fog,smoke,other
particlesintheair,rapidchangesinambienttemperatureandproximitytoaradio
frequencywithanelectromagneticfieldstrengthofthreevoltspermeterorgreater.

Levels of Infrared Thermometers

TherearemanydifferenthandheldIRthermometersforallapplicationsandalllevelsof
speedandaccuracy.ThebasicandmosteconomicalIRthermometerhasa
measurementrangefrom0toapproximately600F,withanaccuracyof3.5F
(ExtechIRThermometer).ThesesimpleyeteffectivetoolsareusedbyHVAC
technicianstomeasureairtemperatureandmotorsurfacetemperature.Theycanalso
beusedinthefoodindustrytomeasurethetemperatureoffoodsinstorageoroffoods
beingserved.ThemoreexpensivehandheldIRthermometershavelargermeasurement
rangesandhigherdistanttospotratiosformeasuringsmallerobjectsatgreater
distances.Theseunitsalsohavethecapabilitytodatalogandsomemaybeusedin
hazardouslocations.AnexampleofthisisFluke568IRandContactThermometer.
Thesemoreexpensiveunitsmightbeusedinproductionenvironmentswhereaprocess
temperatureneedstobemonitoredandevaluatedoriftheobjectthatneedstobe
monitoredatgreatdistances.

Commonly Asked Questions

Q: What is emissivity?
A: Emissivityistheabilityofanobjecttoemitorabsorbenergy.Perfectemittershaveanemissivityofone,emitting100%
ofincidentenergy.Anobjectwithanemissivityofeighttenthswillabsorb80%andreflect20%oftheincidentenergy.
Emissivitymayvarywithtemperatureandwavelength.HandheldIRthermometerswillhavedifficultytakingaccurate
temperaturemeasurementsofshiny,metalsurfacesunlesstheycanadjustforemissivity.

Q: What is the best way to clean an IR thermometer?

A: Tobeaccurate,IRthermometersmustbekeptclean.Toclean,useasoftclothorcottonswabwithwaterormedical
graderubbingalcoholandcarefullywipefirstthelensandthenthebodyofthethermometer.Allowthelenstodryfully
beforeusingthethermometer.Neverusesoaporchemicalsandneversubmergeanypartofthethermometerinwater.

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Sources

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Sources
http://www.coleparmer.com/techinfo/techinfo.asp?htmlfile=IRTherms_faq.htm&ID=377
http://www.omega.com/prodinfo/infraredthermometer.html
(Rev.8/2015)

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Please Note:
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current.Thispublicationisnotasubstituteforreviewofthecurrentapplicablegovernmentregulationsandstandardsspecificto
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