What can You Use an Infrared Thermometer for?

Here are a few of the things you can use an infrared thermometer for:

• Finding faulty terminations in high-powered electrical circuits
• Locating overloaded circuit breakers
• Identifying fuses near or at their rated capacity
• Reading food temperatures
• Reading a person’s internal temperature

How Does an Infrared Thermometer Work?

An infrared thermometer works by using a lens to focus on the light coming from an object in the form of infrared rays and funneling it onto a detector, called a thermopile. The thermopile inside the IR thermometer absorbs the IR radiation and turns it into heat which then gets converted into electricity. The amount of electricity is measured and then displayed on the screen of the thermometer.

Is it Safe to Use Infrared Thermometer?

Infrared (IR) thermometers are not harmful to kids as long as you don’t let them play with it, they are not toys. IR thermometers do not emit radiation, only measuring it like a digital camera. Like all portable electronic equipment, they use batteries en these can be harmful when swallowed.

Can I Use Infrared Thermometers for Cooking?

Since infrared thermometers only measure surface temperatures, it is not very effective at gauging the doneness of foods. The traditional probe thermometers can determine the internal temperature of solid foods will be more suitable for cooking. But the infrared thermometer gun is very helpful for measuring the surface temperature of hot oil, a cast-iron skillet, a sauté pan, or your barbecue grill.