Drone roof and PV survey
Wet flat-roof insulation at dusk, PV hot spots in full sun, wherever airspace and permits allow.
Buried pipes
Where is the heat escaping underground?
A leak in a heating or hot-water pipe buried between two buildings can cost a lot in forints. We show what a thermal camera can do here, what it cannot, and when to bring in other methods before anyone digs.
01 / Honestly
What a thermal camera sees, and what it does not
The camera sees the surface. What lies underground only shows to the extent that the soil lets it through.
A pre-insulated (PUR) hot-water pipe is built to lose almost no heat outward. When the insulation gets wet, its loss rises by an order of magnitude (measured values: 200–380 W/m), but only the part of that heat that the soil and paving let through reaches the surface. What remains at the surface is often a blurred, weak warm patch, or nothing at all.
- May show: larger leaks, shallow pipes, thin paving, a cold environment, night.
- May not show: small leaks, deep burial, thick paving, wet soil, snow, frost, the hours after sunshine.
- Cannot see: exactly where the pipe is if the route drawing is incomplete; we reconcile with the drawing.
That is why our result for buried runs is always indicative. Accessible or overhead sections (tunnel, pipe bridge, cellar) we also examine within a hall and building survey.
02 / The signal’s path
From heat to a surface patch
Heat does not travel straight up: it spreads, lags and weakens.
From a leaking pipe with wet insulation, heat spreads through the soil roughly spherically. Wet, compact soil conducts better than dry, loose soil. Reaching the surface, paving or grass slows it further, and by the time a patch appears it is wider and weaker than its source. Daytime solar load drowns a small contrast, which is why we measure at night, with no sun.
That is why there is no single “threshold temperature”: we compare contrast with the surroundings and take several images from several sides. If a patch coincides with the route, it is worth going further; if not, the thermal image does not confirm.
03 / Real samples
What does this look like in practice?
Real, openly licensed images: the surface signal sometimes shows plainly and sometimes only with analysis software. They are not our clients.
04 / Worked example
What does a leak underground cost?
A fictional but realistic run: 25 m of wetted, pre-insulated hot-water pipe between two buildings, 80 °C flow, the leak downstream of the heat meter so the loss is billed one to one.
- loss of wet insulation (100–380); 25 m → 5.0 kW
- 200 W/m
- make-up water at a 50 l/h leak
- 267 m³/season
- range: 1,200,000–2,900,000 Ft
- 2,100,000 Ft/season
- payback: repair 3,000,000 Ft (1,500,000–6,000,000)
- 17 mo
| Leak | Make-up water / season | Cost Ft/season (central) | Range | Payback (repair) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 l/h | 27 m³ | 1,100,000 | 590,000–1,400,000 | 33 mo |
| 50 l/h | 267 m³ | 2,100,000 | 1,200,000–2,900,000 | 17 mo |
| 500 l/h | 2,671 m³ | 13,000,000 | 7,000,000–18,000,000 | 3 mo |
Note that even a 5 l/h leak costs about HUF 1.1 million a year, because most of the cost is not the water but the roughly 27,000 kWh seasonal heat loss of the soaked insulation. And 5 l/h is only a few litres an hour: in a large district-heating network a closed-circuit water balance is reliable only above about 4 m³/h (Ljubljana district-heating study), so smaller leaks hide in the network water balance. In a smaller private system the make-up water meter is the first signal; the thermal camera is for finding the place, not for proving the leak.
The repair (excavation, repair, reinstatement) is indicatively HUF 3,000,000 (1,500,000–6,000,000) in the example: that item is bigger than the survey, which is why confirmation is needed before digging.
Illustrative example – not real measurement data.
Price basis: the heat fee is an approximation from a Budapest non-residential district-heat tariff; we take the local tariff from your invoice. Make-up water 800–2,500 Ft/m³ is an assumption. Repair costs are indicative, quote-based assumptions.
05 / Before digging
A thermal image is a lead, not a verdict
Excavation is expensive, so confirm from more than one source.
- Make-up water: track make-up water use for a while; a rise is the most direct sign of a leak.
- Route: compare the section marked in the image with the pipe’s documentation.
- Other methods: pressure test, acoustic or tracer-gas check with the pipe operator or contractor.
- Afterwards: decide the dig location on confirmed data. We do not dig and give no structural or construction opinion.
06 / FAQ
What people ask about underground leaks
Can you find a leak in a buried pipe?
Sometimes. A thermal camera sees surface temperature. If enough heat from the leak reaches the surface and differs from its surroundings it shows, but soil, paving and soil moisture blur and delay the signal, and a pre-insulated pipe insulates well outward. That is why we do not promise the leak will show; before the survey we tell you if the conditions make it unlikely.
When is there a chance of success?
In frost- and snow-free spells, on dry surfaces, in light wind, at night or before dawn when the sun’s effect has gone, and with the pipe in operation (hot water in the line). The thinner the soil cover and paving, the better. Snow, ice, wet soil or thick paving usually hides the signal.
Should we dig based on the image?
Not on the image alone. A thermal image is a lead, not a verdict. Before excavating we suggest checking make-up water use, a pressure test and reconciling the route drawing, and where needed an acoustic or tracer-gas check with the pipe operator or contractor. Decide on the dig location after confirmation.
Drone or handheld camera?
Handheld on accessible, short runs; drone on long routes where airspace and permits allow (see the drone roof survey). The conditions above matter for both.
How do I know there is a leak before calling a camera?
In a closed system a rise in make-up water use is the fastest sign: if the make-up water meter shows unusually much, the system is losing water. The thermal camera helps find where.
Related
Worth looking at together
Heat loss analysis in forints
Watts, kWh, m³ of gas, forints: with ranges, an A/B/C order and payback. This is what turns images into a decision.
Cold stores, cellars and chilled rooms
Door seals, panel joints, condensation and ice: where refrigeration works for nothing. Also a summer product.
Request a quote for your facility
Tell us briefly how big and what kind of building it is and what worries you. We reply within one working day and say which package fits. Requesting a quote commits you to nothing.