Steel bars are manufactured in the rolling process, whereby they are characterized by strain hardening and poor plastic properties. In many application cases such properties are improper, therefore, additional heat treatment is required. Crucial influence on the products quality after heat treatment has an appropriate selection of process parameters. In many modern technologies of heat treatment the charge of porous structure is subjected to the heating process. Proper control of heat treatment parameters of bundles of rods requires knowledge on their thermal properties. However, it also requires accurate identification of complex heat transfer processes occurring in the porous material. Such analysis, with respect to bundles of bars, provide a response of qualitative nature of the heat exchange area of these charges. The article describes the emissivity measurements of samples of the steel charge using a thermal imaging camera.