Thermal Imaging: Seeing Your Home In a New Light
In January, we invited Kate from Yorkshire Energy Doctor CIC to give a talk about home energy efficiency to the Our Zero Selby ‘Zero Heroes’ event. Around 22% of our carbon emissions come from the energy we use in our homes and making homes more energy efficient has a multitude of benefits. It saves money on our bills, makes homes warmer, improves health and wellbeing, and tackles fuel poverty, as well as contributing to tackling climate change.
When it comes to losing heat, UK homes are some of the leakiest in Europe so there is a lot of work to be done in this area. We started looking at this in Selby and, on a cold March evening, armed with a thermal imaging camera, Kate and Matt from Our Zero Selby set out to explore heat loss in four local homes.
Kate explains: “Thermal imaging is a brilliant visual way to show householders where their homes are losing heat and we can then talk about what can be done to keep the heat in. Some of this may involve draught proofing measures or we can signpost to grants for energy efficiency improvements such as loft and cavity wall insulation”.
Images taken showed heat loss through an un-insulated cavity wall, a loft hatch that was not insulated on the other side, draughts from the bottom of a front door, and loft insulation that did not quite reach the edges.
The darker the colour the colder the surface temperature. In the top left image, you can see the difference curtains make in stopping the cold from a window spreading indoors.
The bottom right image shows why a draft excluder can make a real difference.
One outcome we were not expecting was one resident who had recently had his loft fully insulated. He knew that his neighbour had not had theirs done, yet the outside thermal image showed very similar levels of heat loss. The next day he had another company round who found that the installer had taken the money but not done the work promised! The homeowner contacted trading standards who are pursuing the installer to get his money back.
We are moving out of the thermal imaging season now but if you would like further information on grants available to make a home more energy efficient please contact kate@yorkshireenergydoctor.org.uk