Locate Air Leaks Check for indoor air leaks, such as gaps along the baseboard or edge of the flooring and at junctures of the walls and ceiling. Also check for leaks on the outside of your home, especially in areas where two different building materials meet.
Seek Thermal is the best way to experience and visualize thermal energy while on the go, at work, indoors, or in the outdoors. With this free app and a Seek thermal imaging camera, you can quickly and accurately detect, inspect, measure, and visualize thermal energy from your smartphone and tablet.
Warm air can escape from your home in all directions – including the roof, walls, floor, windows and doors – meaning lots of the energy you pay for can go to waste. The first step is to understand where your home may be losing heat…
Cracks in Walls, Windows and Doors
Around 38% of heat loss in your home comes from cracks in your walls, windows and doors (often invisible to the naked eye). In fact, a ⅛ inch gap under a 36-inch wide door will let as much cold air into your home as a 2.4 inch hole through your wall.
Houses will always lose heat. The colder the outside temperature or the stronger the wind, the greater the amount of heat lost through the walls, windows, doors and roof of your home ('the building fabric'). In general terms an older building will lose proportionately more heat than one built more recently.
You can use a thermal imaging camera to identify signs of heat and energy loss around the home – whether poor insulation, gaps in cavity walls or inefficient appliances – the cameras will provide a visual picture of where you are losing energy.
Typically your furnace is centrally located in the home. It is usually located in an area such as a utility closet (by a cold air return), garage, attic, basement, or crawlspace; in the case of a heat-pump (a dual-system) it will be located outside of the home.
An average home may have a Heat Loss rate of 4 hours (to lose 1°C) whereas a well insulated home may take 9 hours to lose that same 1°C. To assess the performance of each home, we take internal temperature, external temperature, and heating usage into account.
Thermograms of mechanical systems can detect the heat created by excessive friction. Energy assessors use thermography as a tool to help detect heat losses and air leakage in building envelopes. Infrared scanning allows energy assessors to check the effectiveness of insulation in a building's construction.
Step 1: Download a Thermal imager App
The first step in turning your smartphone into a thermal imager is to download a thermal imager app. There are several options available in the App Store or Google Play, or you can scan the QR code in the manual to get the APP package.
Heat loss is determined by multiplying the values of the surface area, the difference in temperatures of indoors and outdoors and the value of heat loss of the material. The heat loss interests in the ventilation of hot processes which is known as convectional heat loss.
Using the FLIR App:
It will guide you in identifying the exact areas in your home where heat is being lost.
Light an incense stick and carefully pass it around the edges of common leak sites. Wherever the smoke wavers or is sucked out of or blown into the room, there's a draft. You can also use a damp hand to locate leaks; any drafts will feel cool to your hand.
Digital photos that correspond to your IR images will help you further document a problem and communicate its precise location to decision-makers. So, if your customer or supervisor needs to see a comprehensive report, you'll definitely want a thermal imaging camera with this feature.
All homes are vulnerable to heat loss in certain areas. But for period homes, this can be a more serious problem, which could be adding hundreds to your heating bills. The main areas where heat escapes are the loft, walls, windows, doors and floors.
Most furnaces are installed in the center of your home, either in a special utility closet or downstairs in the basement. If your home doesn't have a basement, it may also be in a crawl space or the attic. You may find other equipment like the water heater or your washing machine in the same area.
Heat pumps have an outdoor unit that looks nearly identical to an air conditioning unit. Look for a metal cabinet with a fan on the top — this is the heat pump's compressor unit. If you see this component, it's a good indication that your system includes a heat pump.
The cost of home energy audits can vary depending on several factors, including the location, size, and complexity of your home. On average, you can expect to pay between $200 and $700 for a basic home energy audit. If your home is large and requires advanced energy assessment, the cost could be higher.
The heat loss in the wall is measured in BTUs and the formula is U value x Wall area x Delta T. In our example, this would be: . 07 x 164 x 28 = 321.44 BTUH (British Thermal Units per Hour). This is the amount of heat that is escaping through the exterior walls based on the amount of insulation in them.
Thermal imaging is the ideal tool for determining where heat is being lost in buildings. We can detect and pinpoint the source of your home's heat loss. By sensing temperature changes, the camera identifies areas where warm air is leaving your home or property.
Air leaks, along with old or settled insulation, account for the majority of a home's wasted heat. Ductwork that isn't properly sealed or designed can lose heat before it ever reaches the vents in your home. Broken or missing dampers can let large amounts of heat escape all winter long.
Evaporation of water from your skin if it is wet (sweating). If your clothing is wet, you will also lose some body heat through evaporation and through respiration (breathing) when the body temperature is higher than 37 °C (99 °F). During intense exercise, the body loses 85% of its heat through sweating.