Can a thermal camera reveal your hidden heat loss?

It’s like X-ray vision – for heat loss. Last year, web engineer Jamie Matthews bought a thermal imaging camera. His home, in the southeast of England, was to reveal some of his secrets.

Color images on the device’s small screen soon revealed how its high hatch was letting it down.

“It was really clear on camera,” he says, explaining that he could see cold areas on the hatch, where heat was apparently escaping.

Mr Matthews, who runs a software company that supplies the clean-tech industry, also found smaller gaps in external walls and parts of his roof that appeared to be less insulated than others.

“It’s good fun and it definitely shows things that might not be immediately obvious,” he says.

Although Mr Matthews was able to draft-proof some areas himself, he says he would take a more methodical approach if he were planning a major change to his home. The web engineer later had a professional survey of heat loss when he installed a heat pump, for example.

According to physicists speaking to the BBC, this approach makes sense. There are signs that thermal cameras are becoming more popular, as homeowners look to reduce their heating bills and carbon emissions. Local councils are growing. Allows residents. To borrow equipment for free, for example.

But experts say there’s no substitute for professional advice if you’re planning major operations or interventions.

Thermal cameras Work using a sensor To detect infrared light, which we can’t see, but which we can sometimes feel as heat. Such devices are not cheap. Mr Matthews spent around £160 on it, although local councils and organizations including energy supplier Octopus Energy offer free loans to people to get a basic understanding of heat loss in their homes.

Wiltshire Council has recently made 11 devices available to borrow from local libraries, along with a short guide on how to use them. Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling says there has been a “huge increase”, such that the council now has a waiting list for interested residents.

Cllr Blair-Pilling says, “Expert advice, combined with a measured approach to the results from thermal imaging, gives residents the best chance to make informed decisions about energy efficient home improvements. will provide.”

Small interventions can help people keep their homes warm and reduce the risk of cold-related health conditions, he added.

However, Joe Atkinson, senior consultant for buildings decarbonisation at Energy Systems Catapult, a research organisation, expresses concern over the increasing availability of thermal cameras: “In my opinion, the risks of making the wrong choice are very high.”

It’s possible to misinterpret thermal camera images, she says, noting that if a wall has been heated by the sun, an image of that wall taken outdoors can make it look like the heat is radiating, when That it is not. Reflective surfaces can also appear, misleadingly, to emit heat.

According to Ronita Bardhan at the University of Cambridge, using a thermal camera as a starting point to understand your home is “absolutely fine”, however, seek independent expert advice when planning any renovation work. is necessary

Thermal camera imagery may make it look like certain areas of your home are losing a lot of heat, but that could just be a result of how the camera is calibrated, how the user holds it and moves it around. transfers, and which color palette. was selected for display.

There is a risk of triggering “retrofit anxiety” among homeowners, Dr Bardhan added.

Also, if people change their insulation, for example, such steps should be taken very carefully because improper installation Damp and can cause mold.

North Somerset Council provides thermal cameras on loan to residents, and the scheme is also currently operating on a waiting list basis due to its popularity. Council has. Published introductory advice. How to use cameras, including a Online video.

The Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE), a charity, Features a more detailed guide. From the National House Building Council, which explains how to use thermal cameras. However, a CSE spokesperson added that the organization still recommends people seek expert advice.

Phil Steele, evangelist for future technologies at Octopus Energy, agrees: “You have to be careful.” Thermal cameras, for example, can make the corners of rooms too cold, but that’s a reflection of reduced air circulation in those areas, not an insulation problem, he explains.

Octopus Energy has about 500 cameras that it lends to customers each winter. Last year, the firm distributed the devices about 3,800 times.

Homeowners with thermal cameras who spoke to the BBC, such as Mr Matthews, say they have presented the images with caution.

Louise Green, a designer in London, says she reads online training materials before using a thermal camera to find heat loss points in a home shortly after her partner moves in.

In her case, Miss Green rented a camera. A library of objectsa community-focused organization that makes a variety of items available for people to borrow. The device identified heat loss around windows and doors in Ms Green’s home. She and her colleagues were able to compare the results to their neighbor’s better-insulated property.

“It just confirmed what we already knew, but it was still interesting to see, you know, were there any other areas?” he explains.

Daryl Taylor at thermal camera maker Fuller says members of the public can access some free training materials on his company’s website.

He added that the goal of the filler is to make thermal images as clear and easy to interpret as possible — including combining optical imagery with thermal imagery, adding more detail to the final image. And he suggests that, in the future, fuller cameras could offer instructions and suggestions based on machine learning as people use the devices.

Those who know how to best interpret thermal camera imagery can find unusual hidden problems in a building.

Dr. Burdhan recently took a very high-resolution camera to look at a house she was considering buying. But thermal images showed cracks in one of the walls, which later proved to be signs of a collapse.

“It probably wouldn’t have been exposed until I went in and looked at it,” she says. Dr Bardhan decided not to make an offer on the property.