As a paranormal investigation team, whenever we are out on an investigation it is important to us that we carry out a thorough temperature sweep before during and after an investigation of all areas in use.
Reason one is we are trying to detect any fluctuations in the heat levels. In particular, certain spots often known as cold spots. These usually small and frequently sudden drops in temperature are said to be occupied with a spirit, thus lowering the temperature quite significantly. This is why we always take more than one set of readings throughout the investigation to check for any changes. At the same time, we check for anything that may be causing this, such as drafts, because even if this is hardly noticeable by us it may still drop the temperature on the thermometer quite considerably. So always look out for air vents...high or low, slightly jarred windows or doors, extraction systems or devices with fan cooling systems. (computers, air conditioning units, refrigeration appliances etc)

We also check for damp spaces as this can also make areas cooler. A couple of other things to note about damp spaces is that most the time they will discoluor the area and can produce some eerie looking photos as we have found out in the past. Upon double checking these pictures that look like we have something paranormal we have found out that this is just discolouration on the wall. This is known as pareidolia, it is also known as matrixing thanks to the TAPs series. So if you ever get a photograph like this, if possible, go back to the location and try to recreate the image to either debunk or verify it. We do this most of the time and have found out that the vast majority of photo's are nothing paranormal at all. Staying on the subject of damp spaces and photography with a flash at night, is that translucent winged insects seem to be attracted to the damp and the flashgun effects on their wings produce balls of light or orbs. Droplets of water that are causing the damp space will also give the same effect. Remember, do NOT be too quick to broadcast the amazing orb photo you have just taken because they can be easily explained with a little work and professional attitude.

Moving on...one of my personal reasons for using this device is you can keep a log of readings over a period of time, which could also help us learn if that in certain temperature levels there are higher or lower paranormal activities present. But this is just my own personal experiment.

Finally, we also use this piece of equipment when going on preliminary checks, as we may have to investigate areas that may be too cold or too hot for us without the necessary dress code and probably more importantly the correct environment for our other equipment. Camcorders for example are not supposed to operate in temperatures below 4 degrees Celsius. Just because we may only be in these conditions for a few minutes we don't want to find that our equipment has turned off early or even worse, broken.

Another benefit of the Infra Red thermometer is you can take readings at a long distance, so you are not upsetting the immediate environment too much and thus keeping it more 'sterile' for the investigation.

So that is why I think it is a very important piece of equipment to have in your set up. Thanks for reading, Boo