The following table serves as a guideline for setting emissivity yin thermography. It provides the emissivity ε of common materials. Sine the emissivity changes with the temperature and the surface structure, the values listed here are only guidelines. In order to measure the absolute temperature value, the exact emissivity of the material must be determined.
Emissivities of the most important materials
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| Material (material temperature) | Emissivity |
| Aluminium, heavily oxidised (93°C) | 0,2 |
| Aluminium, highly polished (100°C) | 0,09 |
| Aluminium, not oxidised (25°C) | 0,02 |
| Aluminium, not oxidised(100°C) | 0,03 |
| Auminium, rolled blank (170°C) | 0,04 |
| Brass, oxidised (200°C) | 0,61 |
| Brick, morter, plaster (20°C) | 0,93 |
| Brickwork (40°C) | 0,93 |
| Cast iron, oxidised (200°C) | 0,64 |
| Chrome (40°C) | 0,08 |
| Chrome, polished (150°C) | 0,06 |
| Clay, burnt (70°C) | 0,91 |
| Concrete (25°C) | 0,93 |
| Copper, oxidised (130°C) | 0,76 |
| Copper, polished (40°C) | 0,03 |
| Copper, rolled (40°C) | 0,64 |
| Copper, slightly tarnished (20°C) | 0,04 |
| Cork (20°C) | 0,7 |
| Cotton (20°C) | 0,77 |
| Glass (90°C) | 0,94 |
| Granite (20°C) | 0,45 |
| Gypsum (20°C) | 0,9 |
| Ice, smooth (0°C) | 0,97 |
| Iron, emery-ground (20°C) | 0,24 |
| Iron with casting skin (100°C) | 0,8 |
| Iron with rolling skin (20°C) | 0,77 |
| Lead (40°C) | 0,43 |
| Lead, grey oxidised (40°C) | 0,28 |
| Lead, oxidised (40°C) | 0,43 |
| Marble, white (40°C) | 0,95 |
| Oil paints (all colours) (90°C) | 0,92-0,96 |
| Paint, black, matt (80°C) | 0,97 |
| Paint, blue on aluminium foil (40°C) | 0,78 |
| Paint, white (90°C) | 0,95 |
| Paint, yellow, 2 coats on aluminium foil (40°C) | 0,79 |
| Paper (20°C) | 0,97 |
| Plastics: PE, PP, PVC (20°C) | 0,94 |
| Porcelain (20°C) | 0,92 |
| Radiator, black anodised (5°C) | 0,98 |
| Rubber, hard (23°C) | 0,94 |
| Rubber, soft, grey (23°C) | 0,89 |
| Sandstone (40°C) | 0,67 |
| Steel, cold rolled (93°C) | 0,75-0,85 |
| Steel, heat-treated surface (200°C) | 0,52 |
| Steel, oxidised (200°C) | 0,79 |
| Transformer paint (70°C) | 0,94 |
| Wood (70°C) | 0,94 |
| Zinc, oxidised |
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