Thermal Imaging – an explanation
The header to the CAPS website carries several thermal images taken by an infra-red camera – of the beach at Sidmouth and of people round and about in Sidmouth.
Here’s a bit of techie stuff to explain what’s happening:
The heat captured by an infrared camera can be measured with a high degree of precision. This means that infrared cameras can be used for things like checking thermal performance and determining the relative seriousness of problems associated with heat.
Infrared technology and thermal cameras: How they work
Which means we can measure how efficient a building is, for example, in keeping in the heat.
Which in turn can mean we know where our house is losing heat – and try to do something about it:
Control Your Home Energy Bills with a Thermal Imaging Camera | Teledyne FLIR | Teledyne FLIR
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Thermal Imaging (Infra-red) Domestic Residence Survey Request – a Sidmouth project
Sidmouth Town Council is offering residents the opportunity to have a free thermal imaging survey of their house to help identify likely areas of heat loss.
The photographs will be taken by a volunteer who has been trained in the use of the Infra-red camera but is not a qualified surveyor. The service will be offered on a first come first served basis and the Council does not guarantee that photographs can be taken in this winter season if demand exceeds our ability to provide this service.
Sidmouth Town Council will not publish the images without my prior consent but they may be shared with the team running this project in order to improve the service offered to residents.
If you would like to accept this offer please complete the survey here on the town council’s website
Thermal Imaging (Infra-red) Domestic Residence Survey Request – Sidmouth Town Council
How much heat are you losing from your house? – a Sidmouth project: January 2024 update
by Chris Lockyear: Chair Sidmouth Town Council
At this time of year we need to heat our houses but the cost of doing so is very high. This is a concern to many of us. Unfortunately, a lot of the heat generated from the expensive gas and electricity we use is wasted as heat is lost through poorly insulated roofs or walls, or draughty doors and windows. There is also an environmental cost as we release more carbon dioxide that we would if these problems did not exist. So, for both financial and environmental reasons there is an urgent need to understand and address the problem.
Step one is to work out which part of our houses need attention but that is difficult as you cannot see heat being lost. Except that you can! An infrared (thermal) camera can show which areas are hot and which cold and so help us understand where we should be paying attention. When viewed from the inside, a cold wall or draughty seal can be seen as purple compared to the relatively warmer orange colours as can be seen on this example of an external door.
Sidmouth Town Council is once again offering a free infra red (thermal) camera survey of your house. We have a group of volunteers who will come round to your house and take Infrared photos which will then be sent to you in a short report. The volunteers are not qualified heating technicians but are trained in the use of the camera and image interpretation. Some issues are potentially complex and expensive to solve but others can be addressed for effectively nothing, such as a draught excluder next to an outside door. The Town Council cannot unfortunately help you with grants to fix problems but can point you at other agencies that might be able to help.
The surveys will be undertaken on a first come first served basis and can only really be done in the morning on a cold day when the difference between the internal and external temperature is large.
If you are interested in having a survey, please register on the Sidmouth Town Council website.
Thermal Imaging (Infra-red) Domestic Residence Survey Request – Sidmouth Town Council