Does Ambient Temperature Affect the Accuracy of IR Scanning Electrical Devices?

Problems are detected in rise over ambient, so you should know the operating temperatures in the full range of environmental conditions....

Exergen had a handheld contact IR for spot surface temp measurement in the '90's. It used a thermocouple thermopile. Its readings were VERY subject to its ambient temperature, presumably as a buried cold junction compensation caught up to IR reading.

If left in the car overnight in the winter at say 20 Deg F, and brought indoors, it would read an office desktop surface temp of 68 deg F at about 25 Deg F and slowly increase as the unit warmed to office temperature.

That's not to say that your scanner reacts the same way, but that IR unit did.

A simple test of checking the same object when the scanner is at office temp and again when it's been left in a spot to assume nighttime winter temp should confirm what the unit's temperature impact is one way or the other.

Then it's a question of whether an offset matters. Do you use the scanner for absolute readings or relative readings ?

I've found that the largest expected temperature differentials yield the best results. A hot bearing, for example, when viewed in 40 or 50 Fahrenheit will have much better resolution in my FLIR brand unit than the same bearing viewed in a 90 Fahrenheit environment.

I don't work for FLIR or any of its associates.

-RTFM- what does the manual say? do you have a reference set point? Does it automatically adjust for ambient? Example, IRT500-

3. If an object's surface is highly reflective, apply masking tape or flat black paint to the surface before measuring. Allow time for the paint or tape to adjust to the temperature of the surface it is covering.

4. Measurements cannot be made through glass.

5. Steam, dust, smoke, etc. can obscure measurements.

6. The meter automatically compensates for deviations in ambient temperature. However, it can take up to 30 minutes for the meter to adjust to extremely wide changes.

7. To find a hot spot, aim the meter outside the area of interest then scan across (in an up and down or side to side motion) until the hot spot is located.

--RTFM--