The arrival of winter means that most of us will be turning up the heating in both our homes and places of work – but is a lot of that valuable heat being lost unnecessarily? Heat can escape through a building's roof, windows, walls and floors for several different reasons.
This, in turn, will cost you more on your gas and electricity bills and will continue to be an issue until you've identified and rectified the problem. Thermal imaging is an excellent tool for accurately identifying problem areas where heat is escaping in your property. Today, we're going to explore how you can use thermography to cut the cost of your electricity bills, even in winter.
Common Heat Escape Routes
Roughly 25% of the heat produced by your boiler will escape through the roof of your property. A further 35% will escape through the walls, gaps around the windows and doors, and another 10% disappears through the floor. Collectively, these areas are known as the thermal envelope.
Thermal imaging home inspections can visually show you which areas in your property's thermal envelope are responsible for excessive heat loss. You may find that it's all of the above, or there may be one particular area that hasn't been properly insulated. This will give you a clear indication of where to invest in additional insulation or building work that will help your home retain heat.
Stop Heat Leaving Through The Roof
If your thermal imaging survey has identified that your roof isn't retaining heat correctly, then it's time to install some loft installation in the roof space. Having a well-insulated loft is the best thing you can do to drive down your utility bills. There are many loft insulation options, including mineral wool, sheep's wool and rigid insulation board.
Stop Heat Leaving Through Your Walls
Depending on when your property was built, it will either have solid or cavity walls. Generally, properties built in the UK before 1930 will have solid walls, and anything built after 1930 will have cavity walls. Cavity walls are easy and cost-effective to insulate with an injected insulating material. Solid walls are trickier as there is no cavity to be filled, so insulating needs to happen externally or internally. However, it is worth exploring to make your home as insulated as possible.
Even if you know your roof and walls have insulation, it is still worth periodically carrying out a thermographic survey as insulation can deteriorate or be disturbed by animals over time. A camera like thoseprovided by FLIR Thermal Imaging UK will be able to identify these issues for you.
Air Leaks in Windows and Doors
Many people believe that single-glazed windows are the biggest offender when considering heat loss in homes. While double-glazing will improve comfort and assist with retaining heat, it's the air leaks around the edges of windows and doorframes that are the main contributor.
Air leaks are unintentional intrusions of outdoor air finding its way into a building through small cracks and holes. This is often caused by changes in the weather, causing the frames to expand and contract, which, in turn, puts stress on the sealant. If the seals are old, dried out, or compromised somehow, they will crack and allow air and moisture through.
An inspection of your window and door frames with a thermographic camera will identify any air leaks and allow you to make an informed decision on whether the seals can be repaired or if the window needs replacing.
Water Ingress
This is when water unintentionally infiltrates a property and is easily identifiable by the presence of damp patches and mould on walls and floors, alongside peeling or powdery paintwork. Water ingress can come through cracked brickwork or damaged mortar from the ground through the bricks, known as rising damp. Rising damp is not usually an issue in modern properties, as they are built with a damp course, but, if you have an older property, you may not have this.
Water ingress can also come through your roof, doors and windows if there are cracks and gaps, through basements if they have not been appropriately waterproofed and through leaks in pipes. You can use thermography to identify the cause of your water ingress, allowing you to treat the issue properly.
For example, if your ingress is caused by rising damp, you'll know to arrange for your property to have a damp course put in place. Likewise, if your thermal camera flags up that the water is entering through damaged brickwork or cracked mortar, you can arrange to have this repaired.
If left untreated, water penetrating a building can cause structural damage beyond mould and staining. In addition, the longer water ingress is left untreated, the more costly the damage will be to repair in the future and could present roadblocks if you decide to sell your property, as damp is an issue that a house inspection survey will flag up. A thermal imaging survey will quickly and effectively the source of the ingress.
Here at Thermascan, we have a variety of high-quality thermal imaging cameras for sale, including thermal cameras for home inspections, allowing you to conduct thermographic inspections of your property. Alternatively, you can arrange for a thermographic survey to be carried out by one of our certified engineers. Contact us today for more information about how thermography can help you save money on your utility bills.