InspectCam™For HVAC techs · Free on Android · Pro on Google Play (US)
An HVAC photo app: the data plate, the attic, the report
Read the plate with the light on. With Pro, keep each unit’s photos with its address.
By , developer of InspectCam™ · Published · Last updated
InspectCam™ is a camera app for Android that keeps the phone’s light on while you look, shoot and record, so the data plate in a dark closet comes out readable. It is free. Pro, sold in the US, files each photo into the job you pick, with the client and the address, and turns the job into a PDF report under your company’s name.
An HVAC call starts with a photo: the data plate, so you order the right part. Then the filter, the drain pan, the flue, the condenser outside. Next year, on the maintenance visit, you want last year’s photos of the same unit. In a camera roll, good luck.
The free InspectCam™ camera keeps the light on, so you can read the plate in the dark. Pro, in the same app, keeps every unit’s photos with its address and makes the report.
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Read the data plate in the dark
Furnaces sit in closets, air handlers in attics, water heaters in basements. The plate is small, often faded, and the bulb is behind you. On most Android phones the flashlight goes off when the camera opens. InspectCam™ keeps it on: turn the light on once and it stays on while you look, shoot and record.
- Turn the light on and hold the phone square to the plate.
- Zoom with a pinch or the close preset your phone supports, and tap to focus on the model number.
- If the plate is shiny and glares, tilt the phone a little, or hold the light button to dim it (or use the bar beside it), on phones that support it.
- Take the photo with the shutter or a volume button. Check on the screen that the model and serial read before you leave.
Where the plate is on each kind of unit, and how to read a faded one: how to photograph an HVAC data plate.
In the attic, the closet and the crawl space
A crushed flex duct, a rusty drain pan, a disconnected joint, water stains under the air handler. Shoot them with the light on, or record a short video as you crawl along the duct run. Your music keeps playing — even while you record video.
- Timer, 3 or 6 seconds. Reach the phone past the air handler, let it settle, and it shoots by itself.
- Touch lock. A sweaty palm on the glass doesn’t switch modes or turn the light off.
- Volume-button shutter. Take the photo with a volume button when the other hand holds you up.
The timer, dim, mirror, volume buttons and touch lock are free for everyone from version 1.2. The light turns off after 10 minutes untouched, or if the phone gets very hot, as it can in a summer attic. Tap the light to turn it back on. Photos from the free app save to your phone, and carry a small, faint InspectCam™ mark in one corner.
For a closed duct or a wall cavity, plug in a USB borescope. Works with: Klein Tools ET16 (tested). Tested and doesn't work: DEPSTECH NTC55, Bazo DN200 and a scope sold as “Industrial scope W400”; they only work with their maker's app. Most scopes sold on Amazon won't work. The full list is on what InspectCam™ works with.
At the condenser, in the sun
Is the pad still level? Turn on the free level on the camera and lay the phone on the pad: it shows a bubble in a ring and one number, the pad’s whole slope. It is a rough check, not for code or safety. How the level works: the phone level that keeps the flashlight on.
Outside you don’t need the light. You need the plate, the fins, the disconnect and the line set, all in the same job as the indoor unit. That’s where Pro comes in.
Pro: every unit’s photos with its address
Pro is on sale in the US, inside the same app. Sign in with Google. Start a job with the client and the address on one card, put it on the camera’s job chip, and every photo and video you take goes into it: the plate, the furnace, the condenser. Photos and videos taken into a company job upload to the cloud.
Next spring, on the tune-up, open the job from the jobs list. Last year’s plate, filter and drain pan are in it, so you know what you’re walking into before you open the closet.
Pro puts the date, time and place on your job photos and videos, in one line along the bottom, and you can draw numbered arrows and circles on a photo. A ready-made HVAC template lists the shots to take. Coming soon: voice notes.
A report the homeowner understands
Homeowners don’t see the attic. A report with photos shows them why the coil needs cleaning or the duct needs replacing. On the job, tap Full report. Pro makes a PDF under your company’s name, with a report number. Each photo prints with its date and time, its note and its marks. The last page carries one small “Generated with InspectCam” line.
Send it as a file, or, from a company job’s full report, as a link the homeowner opens in a browser, with Download PDF. Pair a before photo with its after, and the report gives the two a page of their own. Pro’s Restoration template comes with a certificate of completion the client signs on your phone when the job is done, printed on its own page of the report; you can add one to your copy of the Property manager template too. Its default wording is written for water damage jobs. Coming soon: your own wording, set once in Settings.
On new construction you may be the sub. If the general contractor uses InspectCam™ Team or Business, they text or email you a link for HVAC. Tap it, and your browser opens a page for photos. No app, no account. Your photos land in their job, in a folder for your trade. With your own Team or Business plan, you send those links to your subs the same way.
Which plan fits an HVAC company?
| Plan | People | A month | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duo | Up to 2 | $39.99 | A tech working alone, with room for a helper. Jobs, reports, cloud upload and share links; your helper on the same jobs (coming soon). |
| Team | Up to 5 | $89.99 | A shop with a few trucks, plus the trade photo drop for subs. |
| Business | Up to 10 | $159.99 | Several techs on service, installs and new builds at once. |
Duo and Team: pay yearly and get a year for the price of ten months. Business is monthly only. US prices, plus any tax, charged by Google Play. A company's first plan can start with a 30-day free trial. The owner buys in the app. Everyone in the company gets Pro. Team and Business add the trade photo drop. Pro is sold in the US only. The free camera works in every country. More than 10 people? Email support@inspectcam.app. The rest is on the InspectCam™ Pro page.
Questions HVAC techs ask
Is there a free HVAC photo app for Android?
Yes. InspectCam™ is free on Google Play: the camera with the light held on, tap to focus, zoom, the timer, touch lock and the volume-button shutter. Pro adds jobs, PDF reports under your company’s name, cloud upload and share links. Try Pro free for 30 days (US).
Does the light stay on while I work?
Yes. One tap and the light stays on while you look, take photos and record video. It turns off after 10 minutes untouched, to save battery, or if the phone gets very hot, as it can in a summer attic. Tap it to turn it back on.
Can I see last year’s photos of the same unit?
Yes, with Pro, if you took them into a job. Each job keeps the client and the address on one card; open the job from the jobs list and the photos are there.
Can I send the homeowner a report?
Yes, with Pro. Tap Full report on the job for a PDF under your company’s name, each photo with its date and time. Send the file, or, from a company job, a link that opens in a browser, with Download PDF.
Does InspectCam™ read the model number for me?
No. It takes a clear photo with the light on; you read the plate on the screen.
Is InspectCam™ on iPhone?
Not yet. The iPhone app is coming soon, with Pro included. For now, InspectCam™ runs on Android phones.
HVAC work that needs something that isn’t here? Write to support@inspectcam.app.
Pro for other trades: plumbers, electricians, contractors and their crews, roofers, home inspections, rental move-in and move-out, water damage, or everything on the InspectCam™ Pro page.