Thermal Camera

We were delighted to be awarded a grant from the Staffordshire Climate Action Fund to buy a thermal camera.  We’ve been using the camera to assess heat loss from homes of local residents, and discuss options for cutting heating bills.  The temperature variations help us spot where heat is escaping from our homes. During the visit we also check for obvious fixes which reduce bills; and give tips on how to cut energy use, and where to get reliable information.

So what have we found?

Every little helps:   The picture above left, taken indoors, clearly shows how effective curtains are in keeping heat inside the room – even though the windows behind are double glazed. Every layer helps. In the photos, black is coldest, blue is cold, and red is warm.  The lowest parts of doors and windows are the coldest areas, and long curtains (or draught ‘dogs’) help to stop that air seeping across the floor, keeping us more comfortable.

Loft insulation is really effective: Loft insulation is one of the most cost-effective measures to take.  Most people by now have a few inches between the rafters.  What the camera has shown up (above right) is that there’s a good reason for the current standard being raised to 11 inches. The rafters are less insulating than rockwool, which you can see as cooler stripes.  An extra layer over the top of the rafters prevents this.

The camera has also revealed some signs of uneven insulation – squirrels in the loft can play havoc with the rockwool.

Attic rooms and complicated wall structures often have variable insulation: With the complicated rooflines in attic rooms or extensions it can be tricky to ensure that every section gets insulation, and that all the insulation meets up without cold spots.

Cavity wall insulation works: In the picture above, the left hand part of the house is solid brick, while the right hand is cavity wall with insulation.  The solid wall loses more heat (so it’s warmer, on the outside, than the insulated cavity wall).   The red area at the top of the roof is the chimney- a fire was lit at the time.

Insulation has to be continuous to work well, and that’s hard to check visually.  And external appearance can be misleading – in some modern homes, decorative external timber cladding had no bricks or insulation behind it, creating a serious heat escape route.

We continue to offer home visits during the cold seasons, so if you would like to check your home using the thermal camera – or just discuss cutting your bills, please contact us.