Thermal Imaging has many applications in the property sector, including heat loss, moisture detection and electrical inspection.
It provides a quick, non-intrusive solution for problems that involve heat generation and transfer. Thermal surveys can help to provide an overall view of how your building is performing.
Here are some examples:
- Missing insulation
- Heat Loss/Air leaks
- Water ingress through roofs
- Leak detection
- Underfloor heating detection
- Locating areas of thermal bridging.
Many within the residential property sector are concerned with building performance and meeting environmental targets. Understanding how a property is performing thermally is a good indication of how it is being heated and where efficiency improvements can be made.
Temperature anomalies across a building surface may indicate areas of missing insulation or where elements are failing, resulting in heat loss. Equally temperature differences on the surface of a flat roof may also indicate water ingress. Using thermal surveys to identify these anomalies is fast and non-destructive.
Thermal cameras are devices consisting of a sophisticated heat sensor with the capacity to identify small differences in surface temperatures.
The camera records the infrared radiation from objects in a selective environment and creates an image based on the differing temperature measurements, clearly displaying hot and cold areas.
In order to undertake a thermal survey of a building, you will require a thermal camera capable of identifying temperature irregularities plainly and reliably, so investment in the right equipment in the first place is vital. Using an app on your phone or a cheap thermal camera may show you extremes in temperature differences but will lack the sensitivity to show the range of temperatures needed to understand building performance. Cheap equipment is unlikely to be reliable enough to make major decisions on upgrading building elements or poorly performing roof structures.
Once the thermal data is collected, it then needs to be tuned and interpreted. A report can then be provided highlighting areas of concern or areas which may need further investigation. Understanding this process and how to interpret the data is vital for a thermal survey especially where it is being relied on as evidence of how a building is performing. This knowledge is gained through certificated learning and experience. Certification demonstrates that the individual has the required knowledge and skills to provide a quality inspection to an established international standard.
At EK Digital, we undertake thermal surveys using both ground-based thermal cameras and specialist thermally-equipped drones.
Our qualified building thermographers are able to provide surveys of buildings and roofs to see beyond the visual spectrum and identify where buildings are failing and indeed where they are performing adequately. Working alongside our EK Retrofit colleagues, we can provide advice on how best to improve your properties’ energy performance and what steps can be taken to meet net-zero requirements.
Our thermal surveys are also a useful and non-destructive way of identifying water ingress, especially through roofs. This approach helps to understand the performance of the roof over time and also for initial views prior to more costly or intrusive surveys such as Troxler/ELD moisture map surveys or sample testing especially where safe direct access isn’t available.
Case Study: Block of Flats, Kensington
This 100-apartment building in Kensington was suffering from very high energy bills. Our colleagues at EK Retrofit were set the task of investigating why and what retrofit options were open to the resident management company. The first matter to address was how to reduce the energy being lost via the building fabric.
By capturing high-quality infrared thermal images, we were able to identify significant heat loss via the building envelope. Where wall-hung radiators and associated pipework sit adjacent to the external wall, the heat-loss externally was striking, as can be seen in these images.
Thermal imaging and intrusive investigations at roof level found insulation to be saturated with rainwater. Once insulation is wet, its u-value dramatically increases, limiting its ability to retain heat.
Single-glazed Crittal windows were another source of heat loss, especially in the heated communal corridors. This leaking of heat and wasting of energy, meant that the consumption of gas required in order to heat the building was extraordinarily high. This has begun discussions on switching to heat-pumps, although the high cost of electricity when compared to gas consumption does not make that switch immediately cost effective. When the electricity rate comes back down to nearer its pre-energy crisis price, that will enable gas systems such as the one in this building to be feasibly de-commissioned.
Our thermal surveys have clearly shown how energy is wasted and where the focus needs to be as part of a “fabric first” approach for this building – i.e. new roof, external wall pipework insulation, and window upgrades – and this is in support of government policy and their recent amendment to the Energy Efficiency Regulations 2015.
For more from Earl Kendrick, then please click here.
Alternativly, click here got more from Flat Living.
