The Thermal Master P2 Pro is only slightly larger than my fingernail but I put it to the test to see if it could see where my 17th-century home was poorly insulated
The world's smallest thermal camera revealed a lot of insulation problems in my 17th-century home(Image credit: Future)
Living in a 1640s home has its benefits, but one of them is definitely not its heat.
It is a home that has failed its EPC rating due to it being so poorly insulated.
So when I got my hands on the Thermal Master P2 Pro, which you can buy online on Amazon, the world’s smallest thermal camera, I was genuinely curious to see how it would perform in a house that predates central heating by a few hundred years and see where my home needs better insulation.
Easy to use, right out of the box
The thermal camera was easy to use with simple to follow instructions(Image credit: Future)
First things first – this thing is tiny. It connects straight to your phone (I’m using an iPhone 12 max pro), and once I downloaded the Thermal P2 app within minutes I was scanning different areas of my home.
There’s no separate charging needed, which is a massive bonus. Just plug it in, open the app and off you go.
How I tested my home for heat loss
I tested out the camera on my house, which is known to have insulation problems(Image credit: Future)
I started with the obvious culprits: the Edwardian-era windows.
As suspected, the edge of the windows lit up like a bonfire on the thermal infrared heating display – deep reds and oranges showed exactly where heat was pouring out while cooler greens and blues showed where everything was working as it should. No surprises there, but it’s great having visual confirmation when deciding whether to install double glazing!
Even the conservatory, a much newer feature, was shown to be leaking heat, revealing many ways how I can insulate my home better.
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It was highlighted in an EPC report that my homes windows were not efficient(Image credit: Future)
My windows were shown to be leaking heat at the seams(Image credit: Future)
I tested my bathroom windows as well which also showed heat being lost(Image credit: Future)
The conservatory windows were also shown to lose heat(Image credit: Future)
Next, I checked the internal walls and newer installations like the modern front and back doors.
The newer doors were shown to be impressively efficient, staying close to the house’s internal temp of 21°C, showing very little leakage.
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The back door was shown to leak little amount of heat(Image credit: Future)
The internal original stone walls of the home actually showed very good levels of heat retention maintaining a temperature of 19 degrees(Image credit: Future)
The P2 Pro let me toggle between Celsius and Fahrenheit easily. However, what impressed me most was how sensitive it was – the device can detect temperature differences as small as 0.04°C, and the 15x zoom meant I could hone in on very specific areas, like door seals and corners of window panes and take almost immediate temperature readings.
12 different colour palettes & numerous features
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I found the rainbow setting the easiest to use(Image credit: Future)
The 'white-hot' was more difficult to see the temperature changes(Image credit: Future)
The 'iron-red' camera was useful on other situations like larger surface areas as it revealed harder to see temperature drops(Image credit: Future)
With 12 colour palettes to choose from and the ability to adjust emissivity, I found it easy to customise the display for different materials – stone, wood, metal, glass – all of which exist in glorious chaos in my home.
There’s even a DIY colour bar where you can set thresholds manually and swipe to highlight problem areas – handy for creating professional-style inspection reports, which the app generates on the fly.
If you want to identify certain points in your home you can click the 'point' feature to take readings of individual spots, or draw a line using the 'line' feature, like I did on my windows, to compare temperatures, or even use the 'frame' feature to draw a block to see how much heat is being lost in a larger area of your home.
Battery & performance
The app allowed me to store all of my images, taking up little storage space(Image credit: Future)
I was concerned it might drain my phone, but with such low power consumption (just 0.33W), I got two hours of inspection time without any issues, despite my phone being on less than 30% battery.
The 256×192 IR resolution is sharp, and the smart algorithm bumps it up visually to 512×384 for even clearer images.
You can also store all of your images on the app in a gallery to keep track of all of your house and where poor insulation is a problem.
Is it worth it?
The Thermal Master P2 Pro is an absolute gem for any homeowner, especially those of us living in Britain’s beautifully drafty older homes.
Whether you're chasing down draughts in a 17th-century wall or checking modern fittings for leaks, this tool is a game-changer.
At £280-ish ($349), it’s not exactly pocket change, but for what you get – including the portability, accuracy, and all the pro features packed into something the size of a biscuit – it’s well worth the investment.
If you’re even remotely into DIY, home maintenance, or just curious about where your heating bill is going, this thermal camera will quickly become your favourite gadget.
Shop the Thermal Master P2 Pro
Thermal Camera for Android and IOS
A Thermal Imager camera With Macro Lens, Infrared Camera With 512×384 Super Ir Resolution, 256×192 Ir Resolution, 15x Zoom, -4℉ to 1112℉ Temperature range.
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News Editor Joseph has previously written for Today’s Media and Chambers & Partners, focusing on news for conveyancers and industry professionals. Joseph has just started his own self build project, building his own home on his family’s farm with planning permission for a timber frame, three-bedroom house in a one-acre field. The foundation work has already begun and he hopes to have the home built in the next year. Prior to this he renovated his family's home as well as doing several DIY projects, including installing a shower, building sheds, and livestock fences and shelters for the farm’s animals. Outside of homebuilding, Joseph loves rugby and has written for Rugby World, the world’s largest rugby magazine.
