Has anyone thermo-imaged their house?

irlforum

I've been thinking about doing this for a while as our house doesn't get that hot during the winter even though the radiators get very hot. House also gets cold quickly again when heat turns off.

Anyone ever tried doing a thermo analysis of their house? - I didn't even know if it would be possible to get equipment to do it reasonably but fluke seem to have a device after just looking at their site. Hopefully you can rent them out somewhere.

Leo Demidov

I know a guy in kk who can do it reasonably for ya, with a written report if required. Let me know.

You could also give you local BER assessor a shout and see if they have a cam. I would recommend using someone who is trained (ITC Thermographer), as opposed to doing it yourself or indeed using a "professional" who has no training.

These reports can prove very useful but ideally require a 10 degree temperature difference between inside and out, dry day, moderate sunshine etc. Best of luck with it.

Dan Jaman

Easy to do it yourself if all you want is a before and after chart. Just use an IR thermometer - dirt cheap now and accurate enough - all you need is +/- 2deg or so. It's certainly good enough to show you the hotspots on the walls and windows. I IR-scanned my place during the winter just gone and was surprised how much heat was radiating out from the walls - that's why it spurred me on to get cracking with the insulation this year. Why spend pots of money on a pro survey which is totally overkill for a dwelling?

Leo Demidov

Dan Jaman wrote: »

Why spend pots of money on a pro survey which is totally overkill for a dwelling?

Good points, well made, but regarding pots of money, you'd get a survey done these days for 150 euro by a trained thermographer. These guys are anxious to get work and to pay back on their cameras.


Regarding doing a before and after with IR thermometer, you should either ensure that air temps are similar on both dates or do the math and add or subtract the differences. In any event you need a temp difference between outside and in, and an evening time external survey with an IR cam could prove beneficial.

irlforum

We got that wall insulation (can't think of name now) whereby they drill holes into the wall and fill it with beads - didn't seem to make much of a difference really. Would be really interested to see what a thermometer would show.

Dan Jaman

wexfjord wrote: »

Good points, well made, but regarding pots of money, you'd get a survey done these days for 150 euro by a trained thermographer. These guys are anxious to get work and to pay back on their cameras.

That's a lot cheaper than I was expecting - right enough, the kit is pricey and those guys have to keep some money coming in to pay for it.