Energy Audit Marketing

[Peter C. Russell]

Randy, if you want to get into IR and diversify look into these areas, they do not have anything to do with home inspections, pay more, less liability and I think their more fun than a home inspection.
Commercial roof inspection
Before and after scans for insulation companies
Moisture intrution for....
Property management comp.
Condo Associations
Heat loss surveys, residential/commercial

None of the above involve marketing to a Realtor.

[Jason Kaylor]

Originally Posted by prussell

Randy, if you want to get into IR and diversify look into these areas, they do not have anything to do with home inspections, pay more, less liability and I think their more fun than a home inspection.
Commercial roof inspection
Before and after scans for insulation companies
Moisture intrution for....
Property management comp.
Condo Associations
Heat loss surveys, residential/commercial

None of the above involve marketing to a Realtor.

+1

Throw in:
insurance companies (market to)
Industry
Find companies that you know have a need for IR but won't spend the bucks on it, they generally sub it out.
Trucking companies - No one goes after this one, they have several IR needs that they normally do not know about.
Search and Rescue
The forestry service and the likes
Ghost hunters - laugh all you want, we rent and sell cameras to these guys all the time. If we can rent to them, you can do the work for them.
Marine applications

There are a ton more if you just think out of the box a little.

Jason Kaylor – JJ
VP of Specialty Products
877/207-1244
AC Tool Supply
Fluke Thermal Imagers
Testo Infrared Cameras
HotShot Hi-Rez Infrared Cameras
Ideal 61-059 AFCI GFCI
Ideal 61-164 Circuit Tracer
Ideal 61-165 Circuit Tracer

[Hubert A. Miles, Jr]

Peter,

How are you marketing the above mentioned IR services? Are you doing it through direct contact, direct mail, flyers, etc? Would be interested in seeing some sample letters, flyers, etc.

[Peter C. Russell]

Originally Posted by hmiles

Peter,

How are you marketing the above mentioned IR services? Are you doing it through direct contact, direct mail, flyers, etc? Would be interested in seeing some sample letters, flyers, etc.

I haven't come up with a brochure yet. I'm working on that as well as a new web site. Presently my work comes from referals, web site and I have a huge customer base from 25 years as a contractor.
I'm also starting a free energy audit seminar. I will send out invitations to my clients through my data base and if it takes off I'll advertise in the newspaper. This way I can potentialy speak to App. 15-20 clients at a time. I hope to have my first one by the end of June.

Also, everything I'm doing has the same theme. My web site, my invitation, my presentation. My gole is to create my own brand of energy audit/thermal imaging.

[Randy King]

Great information! and thanks for contributing to the out of the box thinking! That is exactly what I was looking for...more ideas away from the RE market.

[Randy King]

Anymore ideas out there? Thanks gentleman!

[Peter W. Bennett]

Originally Posted by jkaylor

+1

Throw in:
insurance companies (market to)
Industry
Find companies that you know have a need for IR but won't spend the bucks on it, they generally sub it out.
Trucking companies - No one goes after this one, they have several IR needs that they normally do not know about.
Search and Rescue
The forestry service and the likes
Ghost hunters - laugh all you want, we rent and sell cameras to these guys all the time. If we can rent to them, you can do the work for them.
Marine applications

There are a ton more if you just think out of the box a little.

Jason Kaylor – JJ
VP of Specialty Products
877/207-1244
AC Tool Supply
Fluke Thermal Imagers
Testo Infrared Cameras
HotShot Hi-Rez Infrared Cameras
Ideal 61-059 AFCI GFCI
Ideal 61-164 Circuit Tracer
Ideal 61-165 Circuit Tracer

Jason, what are the trucking companies needing for IR?
thanks,
Peter

[Michael Saxton]

I had thought at one time a few years ago about getting into doing energy audits/ weatherization services and doing blown in insulation and or expanding foam. In this cold climate i felt there would be a need, but I didn't go through on it. I am now doing energy audits as an employee of the agency here that does them for low income households (the income standards are fairly liberal now with the push on weatherization from the DOE, So I think there would not be too many people that would pay for something they can get free) I guess with my position with the agency it would probably be a conflict of interest for me anyway, Though they are OK with me doing home inspections on the side(the real estate market here right now only warrents part time home inspecting. I'm only doing 1-3 home inspections a week right now but hope to see that increase soon.

[Donald T. Belmont]

Look at horse work if you want something interesting.

One nice thing about horses is it's a lot easier in many case to get a decent delta-t compared to a using thermal on a structure.

The nice thing about IR is that it is applicable to anything that has a heat signature.

[Jason Kaylor]

Originally Posted by dbelmont

Look at horse work if you want something interesting.

One nice thing about horses is it's a lot easier in many case to get a decent delta-t compared to a using thermal on a structure.

The nice thing about IR is that it is applicable to anything that has a heat signature.

My only concern with doing anything living would be the liability. Unless the thermographier is a Vet, doing image interpretation and generating a report with findings could lead to litigation. Personally if I were going to do this type of work I would work with a Vet. I know of one, and only one in the country that not only works with IR, but also trains and does image analysis.

This is a wide open market, with very little compeition. But if it were me, I would approach a Vet about this type of service and act as a sub contractor of some sort. Just like when you go to get an MRI, blood work or whatever, the doctor sends you to a facility that exclusivly does that type of work.

We had a local radio doctor mention us on the air after doing a spot about IR breast exams. I got a ton of calls from 40-50 year old women asking how much for an exam. Even if this type of work were to come from their doctor, I wouldn't do it without some insane medical insurance.

Jason Kaylor – JJ
VP of Specialty Products
877/207-1244
AC Tool Supply
Fluke Thermal Imagers
Testo Infrared Cameras
HotShot Hi-Rez Infrared Cameras
Fluke TiR1 Resources
FLIR B60 Resources
Retrotec Duct & Blower Door

[Justo Mickey Rivera]

Jason, I would imagine that Don and others doing horses or what ever the heck else they image (legally that is), has some type of background or at least some basic classroom knowledge. Or at least you would hope. I wouldn't offering anything unless I knew at least something about it. But that's just me.

Let me ask you about this Vet and classes. Is there a schedule or a web site? Because I've been reading up on this and I'm looking to take a class on IR/Horses come the fall. I have an abundance of horse people by me and not one person is offering horse scans

My wife has this thing against mammograms, so last year I looked up someone who was within an hour from us and she had an IR scan of her breast done. Pretty cool.

Mic

[Jason Kaylor]

Justo,

It is www.vet-therm.com. Real nice lady owns it, name is Dr Donna Harper. She will only interpret images for her previous students. I think the training is $1995 and she charges $150 an hour for interpretation. Nice thing is, she generates a report for your customer. So at that point you are basically just the imaging company and any potential litigation will be on her, which she is insured for via her medical insurance.

I would just figure in her $150 per hour cost in to the bid, or maybe even have the customer pay for it directly so you truly are out of the loop. And I would definitely write something in the contract for services that you are just the imaging service and not a Vet.

Jason Kaylor – JJ
VP of Specialty Products
877/207-1244
AC Tool Supply
Fluke Thermal Imagers
Testo Infrared Cameras
HotShot Hi-Rez Infrared Cameras
Fluke TiR1 Resources
FLIR B60 Resources
Retrotec Duct & Blower Door

[Donald T. Belmont]

Yes. I wouldn't offer anything that I didn't have a clear understanding of the parameters and procedures. Having said that the issues and physics around thermography seem to me to get overblown (especially by those selling training). The basics of the Laws of Thermodynamics, the effect of delta-t and the emissivity issues of most materials is not rocket science no matter how many times someone says it is.

When doing equine work you can work with a local vet. Or farrier if it's a hoof study for shoeing. Or trainer if they are working a horse and want to watch for injury before it shows by other means. Or for a saddle fitter (or rider) if your doing saddle fitting sessions. Like every other field practice helps and spending at least a few weeks giving away free samplers can both build your business as you build contacts.

The point being I don't offer medical opinions ever (ever) (ever). As a thermographer I do find and point to thermal anomalies that are in fact no different from finding anomalies in a house or a boat or any place where thermal imaging is effective. The trainer, owner, farrier or veterinary (or combination of all 4) use the scans to guide their other tools and methods to make diagnosis, plan treatment, monitor treatment, examine hoof pressures, saddle fits or anything else.

I don't find it all that different from finding leaking pipes that will be diagnosed and repaired by a plumber, scanning an electrical panel that will be diagnosed and repaired by an electrician. Or finding a hot (or cold) foreleg on a horse that a vet is now going to examine, diagnose and prescribe a treatment.

In fact the liability is low and manageable (as it is in most fields) as long as you don't start selling something as a magic cure for everything.

Dr Donna Harper's program appears reasonable. But her reading a set of scans (without other examination) is more a list of possible causes as opposed to a specific diagnosis. So far every local vet I've worked with has had no problem getting their head around the idea that this tool is just giving them a more sensitive (and durable) measurement of relative hot and cold then what their hands are capable of feeling.

Note: Some of the original thermal work with horses was done by an energy auditor who got sidetracked by a horse enthusiast and author. You can get a copy of Practical Equine Thermography and see for yourself.

[David A. Andersen]

[quote]Let me ask you about this Vet and classes.[/QUOTE

Here is another.
Dr. Tracy Turner is one of the top IR Vets in the country.

Location
The Ohio State University
College of Veterinary Medicine
601 Vernon Tharp Street
Columbus, OH 43210

Contact
Office of Veterinary Continuing Education: (614) 292-8727

Description
Catastrophic injuries in the racing industry, as well as other avenues of equine competition, have recently brought pressure on the veterinary profession to prevent, or diagnose earlier, injuries before they become life-threatening. Injury detection earlier than is available through other modalities makes thermography an excellent tool.

Thermal imaging systems have the capability to detect changes in temperature related to local inflammation and/or blood flow to the tissue. These changes have been shown to occur 2-6 weeks prior to the onset of clinical signs of lameness.

With the use of Thermal Imaging possibility exists that these abnormalities can be identified when the tissues are in a state of stress, rather than anatomical disruption.

Intervention at this point provides less costly, and more time efficient options with which to manage the injury to a successful outcome. Conditions effecting the musculoskeletal system, including Saddle Fit analysis are the most common uses, with use to detect neurological, dental, and infectious disease as well. Sessions will also be presented on the use of thermal imaging in Marine Mammals, Wildlife, and Companion Animals.

Speakers:
Tracy Turner,DVM,MS,DACVS
Jim Waldsmith,DVM
Mike Walsh,DVM
Kim Henneman,DVM
Natanya Neiman,DVM
Mike Corcoran,Master Saddler

More information and registration:
https://vetmedce.osu.edu/ceactivitie...ex.cfm?action=...

[Justo Mickey Rivera]

Originally Posted by dandersen

Here is another.
Dr. Tracy Turner is one of the top IR Vets in the country.

Location
The Ohio State University
College of Veterinary Medicine
601 Vernon Tharp Street
Columbus, OH 43210

Contact
Office of Veterinary Continuing Education: (614) 292-8727

Thanks, that's the one I was talking about but I didn't have time to look it up.

Mic