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But why did he need to get so close? Surely he could use it from the other side of the street to get a better impression of overall heat escaping from windows etc.
Short answer, I don't know.
Longer answer: If I had to guess, IR cameras show whether there are active PIR sensors in the house so perhaps it wasn't about grow rooms and more about whether the house had an active alarm system.
or more to the point, checking whether it has so they can pinch the weed.