Drone & Aerial Infrared
Fixed-wing aircraft and drone infrared scans locate wet insulation across entire portfolios, rank every site by moisture, and show where a repair or re-skin can replace a full tear-off.
Outcomes
Aircraft and drone infrared scans that find wet insulation across every roof.
Knowing exactly what is wet lets you replace sections or re-skin, not tear off entire roofs.
Every site ranked by wet square footage and percentage, so capital goes where it matters first.
Non-intrusive data capture with no disruption to operations or extended foot traffic.
What this includes
Aircraft or drone
TEMA flies both. Fixed-wing aircraft scan entire portfolios at once; drones handle single sites, tight spots and storm follow-up.
Best for multi-site portfolios
One flight covers dozens of buildings with consistent thermal and visual data across every site.
Best for single sites and follow-up
Fast, close-range capture for one building, a hard-to-reach roof or documenting a storm event.
How a scan works
Water inside a roof reads warmer than dry roof after sunset; ponding water on top reads cooler. Pairing a daytime visual flight with a night thermal flight tells them apart.
High-resolution daytime imagery captured with the sun at its highest point to minimize shadows. This becomes the base layer.
A second flight after sunset, when wet insulation holds heat longest, using an infrared camera with sub-18mK thermal sensitivity.
Every anomaly is checked against five moisture criteria using a patented process refined over 30 years and tens of thousands of scans.
Sites ranked by wet square footage and percentage, with blended imagery for each roof section, then verified on the roof with cores.
Reading the results
Two roofs can each have 1,000 sq. ft. of wet insulation. On a 3,000 sq. ft. roof that is 33% wet; on a 50,000 sq. ft. roof it is 2%. One gets budgeted for replacement, the other gets repaired.
Case study
A national consumer company with a 1.4 million sq. ft. roof portfolio had a failed TPO system on five roof sections. The first recommendation was a full tear-off at $5–6 million.
TEMA’s aerial infrared scan showed the membrane had failed, but less than 1% of the insulation was wet. The dry insulation stayed in place and only a re-skin was needed, at roughly half the original estimate and backed by a full system warranty.
Who we serve
Available to every portfolio we manage.
Metal and low-slope facilities at scale.
Warehouses, distribution and production facilities.
Office, retail and mixed-use portfolios.
Apartment communities, condos and associations.
Independent, assisted and memory care communities.
K-12 districts, colleges and universities.
Hospitals, clinics and medical office buildings.
Cities, counties and public agencies.
Planning & Intelligence
FAQ
Thermal flights are flown shortly after sunset on a clear day, when wet insulation holds heat longer than dry areas. We wait at least 24 hours after rain, and up to 48 if roofs are still ponding.
Ponding water on the surface reads cooler than the roof and appears dark. Water trapped inside the roof reads warmer and appears light. The daytime visual flight confirms which is which.
It happens in about 5% of scans, when water reaches the interior without soaking the insulation. That points to a cheaper fix: a clogged RTU condensate line, wall or curb flashing, or condensation on cold pipes.
For multi-site portfolios, fixed-wing aircraft cover the most roofs per flight with the most consistent data. Drones are ideal for a single building, hard-to-reach areas or storm follow-up.
Yes. Aerial data tells our inspectors where to verify with core cuts and moisture meters.
Start with a roof assessment. We’ll document condition, prioritize the work and show you what should happen next.
