Pin It

The Need For An Infrared Thermometer

kprimdal | Nov 15, 2010 |

0 Comments | Rating: 0

Measuring the surface temperature of hot, hazardous or hard to reach surfaces can be impossible with traditional glass-bulb thermometers. Such situations require an infrared thermometer. First made commercially-available in the early 1930s, infrared thermometers now serve a wide number of industries and purposes.
Car mechanics use them to monitor the temperature of vehicle components. The food service industry uses them to make sure hot foods and frozen foods comply with safety guidelines. Firefighters use them to detect hot spots in walls while farmers use them to monitor the temperatures of irrigated fields.

How Does It Work?
An infrared digital thermometer provides fast temperature readings using the invisible electromagnetic energy that all objects naturally emit. The thermometer contains two main parts: an optical system that focuses on the object and a detector that notices the object's energy. To read a temperature, the digital infrared thermometer is aimed at the object in question. Since the thermometer and object are not required to make physical contact, the object may be at a reasonable distance. However, the object must fill the device's "field of view."
Readings, available in Celsius and Fahrenheit, appear on an LCD display, with several readings produced per second. When the object is at a distance, users generally take multiple readings to get an average temperature.

Common Uses
Infrared thermometers remotely measure temperatures, so this opens up a number of options for both work and home environments. Water heaters, vehicle parts and moving objects such as rollers, conveyor belts or moving machinery can all be measured safely and accurately.
The food industry uses infrared thermometers in its perishable warehouses, distribution centers and food service establishments. Thermometers are used for HVAC equipment, ovens and refrigerators. Because no contact is involved, there is no risk of contaminating any food being tested.
Some pediatricians and parents use infrared thermometers on babies and small children. In these cases, the thermometer is placed in the ear canal or against the forehead to check skin temperature.

Thermometer Types
Handheld thermometers and pocket thermometers are both portable, small and used as needed. Pocket types are compact enough to be carried in a shirt pocket, hence its name. Fixed mount thermometers are stationary, usually much larger and found in industry settings where constant monitoring is required.
Infrared thermometers have developed over the last century and will continue to become more commonplace and accessible, as more patent-pending devices are created each year.