What Is An Infrared Thermometer and How Does It Work

By Carrie Tsai,  Last Updated: March 23, 2020

Normally, while talking about a thermometer, you're most likely to imagine a commonly-used probe-style thermometer which measures the temperature of an object by placing itself into the object. However, with the growth of thermal detection technology, another temperature-measuring option called infrared thermometer emerged and has been commonly used in a wide range of fields such as electrical systems and circuit boards, automotives, HVAC, cooking, manufacturing as well as medical applications.

Recently, with the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic, infrared thermometers have been applied more widely by public officials and health care personnel to quickly and accurately measure the body temperature of a great number of people in public places. But do you really know what it is on earth? Are you clear about how it works? Is it safe to the human body? Don't be fretful if you know nothing about it. Just keep reading the article which is going to tell you all about the infrared thermometer.

What Is An Infrared Thermometer

An infrared thermometer is a handheld temperature detecting device which is utilized to measure the surface temperatures of an object or area without having to touch the object. The reason why it's non-contact is attributed to its employment of a built-in laser which enables itself to acquire the surface temperature of a particular object with no contact with that object. After scanning an object or area, the infrared thermometer will display the temperature reading on the indicating screen.

Since they are non-contact, infrared thermometers are mainly used in industrial applications that require performing quick spot reading of temperatures from a distance when the object's temperature is too high to approach, the targeted object is unavailable to reach, or when a traditional probe-style thermometer is unable to be directly embedded into the target being checked.

In addition to being designed for industrial use, infrared thermometers are also used for the measurement of the body temperatures of human beings. With the help of the non-contact feature, they're prone to preventing risk of contagion when being used to measure the body temperatures.

How Does An Infrared Thermometer Work

An infrared thermometer works by detecting the temperature of a particular object on account of the thermal radiation which is emitted from that object. First of all, keep in mind that all objects, including the human body, are able to emit infrared energy which is a kind of electromagnetic radiation below the normal visible light. The infrared radiation can be emitted, gathered or even absorbed. Also, the hotter the objects, the more the infrared energy being emitted.

The infrared thermometer avails itself of this peculiar quality. It's able to gain the infrared radiation by utilizing a lens with built-in laser to focus on the infrared light emitted from a particular object and then gathering them into a detector named a thermopile. Then it's in the thermopile inside the infrared thermometer that the absorbed infrared radiation is shifted into heat which is then converted into electricity. It's eventually the amount of electricity that is measured and then indicated on the screen of the thermometer in the form of temperature reading.

What Are the Advantages of Using Infrared Thermometers

Are infrared thermometers worth using? Why can they be used to measure the temperatures of human body? Compared with the conventional probe thermometers, are there any merits of the infrared thermometers? Well, the answer is definitely Yes. Here comes some advantages of the infrared thermometer which can get you better understand this infrared option.

* Portable and Easy to Use

Infrared thermometers are always handy and portable due to their light weight. They shape like guns, making them easy to handle in comfort. Also, they are super simple to use within seconds. Memory functionality is also available in the vast majority of infrared thermometers, which makes it easy and efficient to record multiple temperature readings from multiple objects at a time.

* Immediate and Accurate Temperature Reading

An infrared thermometer can measure surface temperatures immediately within seconds. The quick temperature reading brings up the infrared thermometer to be able to measure large groups of individuals in crowded scenarios like airports and train stations.

Moreover, the infrared thermometer is able to make accurate temperate reading with only a measurement error of ± 2.0%. A large number of infrared thermometers nowadays also support adjusting emissivity setting which enables you to calibrate the thermometers to fit the emissivity of different types of objects, leading to more accurate temperature measurement.

* Non-contact and Non-contamination

As they are non-contact, infrared thermometers allows the measurement of the temperature to be performed from a distance. This is very useful for measuring high-temperature surfaces that cannot be touched directly or for detecting targeted objects which are unavailable to reach.

Also, the non-touch feature allows the infrared thermometers to measure the temperatures of people without having to genuinely touch the mouth, armpit or rectum for a long time. The lack of contact leads to less or even no chance of contamination, allowing for quicker and innocuous use when scanning large groups of the public in the scenarios like airports, train stations and border crossings.

* Valuable in A Wide Variety of Applications

Infrared thermometers are worth using since they are valuable in a wide variety of applications such as detecting automotive issues, diagnosing heat-related HVAC problems, checking food safety, monitoring manufacturing products for quality assurance as well as measuring body temperature of humans.

* Measurement of Moving Objects Can Be Performed

With built-in lasers, the infrared thermometers are able to take the measurement of moving objects. That being said, when moving around in the assembly occupancies like airports, the individuals are able to be measured by the infrared thermometers without having to pause. This makes the measurement fast and efficient, leading to no delay of the travel of the individuals.

Does the Infrared Thermometer Do Harm to the Human Body

While infrared thermometers with lots of powerful features are now being used to quickly and accurately measure the body temperature of humans, there are worries about if they are hazardous to the human body. The main reason why these worries arise lies in the public's misconception that the infrared thermometers work by emitting their own infrared rays which are harmful to the body.

But the fact is that they are not harmful to the human body on the grounds that they only absorb the infrared radiation when working, not vice versa. That being said, the infrared thermometers don't have their own built-in infrared radiation, let alone emitting any IR.

Nevertheless, using infrared thermometers isn't absolutely safe. The beam of the laser ejected from the infrared thermometers would cause damage to the eyes if it's powerful and accidentally directed to the eyes. Also, it, if a powerful one, can even lead to skin allergy and slight skin burns. Although such situations arise only when the laser is powerful, it's better to wear goggles and gloves to be completely safe when using the infrared thermometers.

Conclusion

Now you must have grasped all about the infrared thermometer. It's a type of pretty useful instrument for the immediate and accurate temperature measurement. With a built-in laser, this infrared option works by measuring the surface temperature of a particular object based on the thermal radiation emitted from that object. In short, it's a kind of powerful temperature-detecting tool utilized in a wide range of applications which require non-contact functionality. Also, it's worth using to safely measure human body temperature.