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QUINCY, ILL. -- There's a lot to consider whether you are renting or buying a new home.

One thing some people may not think of is how well insulated that home really is.

As we all know a well insulted home can save you money on energy costs.

In this KHQA It's Your Business report, Stephen Johnson introduces us to a local home inspector with a new technology  that can give you a clear picture of  what you are getting before you put your money down.

This is a thermal imager.

Brien Ohnemus of Accurate Home Inspections of Quincy uses it to look into walls, ceilings and other parts of a home for areas of heat loss.

Using that information a home owner can make small upgrades that can save them money on home heating costs.

Brien explained how the device works by looking for areas of heat loss around this door.

He said, " Well, the darker areas in this scenario shows us where the cold is infiltrating the home. This is not uncommon for the corner area of the room just because there's studs there and it's not insulated. You're picking up the black on the glass. You're picking up air coming in around the door which sometimes is just the cause of the door not being insulated right."

A service like this is also a valuable tool for Valerie Weir with Coldwell Banker Mays Real Estate.

She said, " As a realtor when we do inspections it is nice to let the buyer know what they're actually purchasing. And when they do buy the home they can see what needs to be done to increase their "R" value in the home."

Below this story you will find a link to Brien's website.

And don't forget if you know of a new business in the Tri-States just e-mail Stephen Johnson with the name and contact information at sjohnson@khqa.com