When and When Not to Use an Infrared Thermometer at Home

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Infrared thermometers are amazing tools that can be a huge help in many situations. Throughout your day, both inside and outside, there are likely several scenarios when an infrared thermometer can come in very handy.

Just grab your infrared thermometer

When to Use an Infrared Thermometer

  • Testing insulation: If you’re wondering whether your home has adequate insulation, here is a simple way to check. While in one room, test both an interior wall and an exterior wall. If the difference in the two walls is more than a few degrees, then you probably need an improvement in your insulation
  • Testing surfaces before play: You don’t want little ones to get burned on your playground equipment or sitting on the patio. Just grab your infrared thermometer to test the area before letting your child play. This idea is also good for testing the sidewalk or trail before taking your dog on a walk.
  • Kitchen uses: There are ways to use your infrared thermometer when cooking. You can test the heat of a pan before cooking, check the heat of liquids such as soups or sauces, or even some semi-solids like mashed potatoes. In this case you would use a spoon to create a void in the potatoes then immediately test with the thermometer.

When Not to Use an Infrared Thermometer

  • Internal Temperatures: In the case of getting the internal temperature when checking the roast or turkey, an infrared will only give you the temperature of the surface of the food or the air around it.
  • Medical Temperatures – In general, infrared thermometers are not the same as the forehead thermometer you use to get a person’s temperature.  Medical infrared thermometers work differently, and it is important that you use FDA cleared equipment in these situations.

To learn more about infrared thermometers, contact us at Global Sensors today.