The rising expenses associated with the UK’s cost of living crisis have put significant pressure on home and business owners to find ways of reducing costs. For example, one of the largest savings that building owners can make is to increase their energy efficiency by reducing lost heat.
The UK Government has shared the results of the Office of Gas and Electronic Markets (OFGEM) raising the price cap of default tariffs. As a result, energy prices increased by 12% by the start of 2022 and continued to escalate throughout the year to 80% by the end of 2022. Even with the Energy Bills Support Scheme, many building owners have struggled to adapt to the step increase in energy costs.
With no clear sign when these prices will fall to previous levels, many people are turning to thermal imaging cameras to find where their valuable heat is being lost in their buildings so they can fix it and save significantly.
What Can Thermal Imaging Reveal?
The high-end thermal cameras we supply reveal a staggering amount of information about a property during a thermographic survey. However, many issues and faults will exist within a seemingly fine building that is invisible to daily observations but will quietly build into sizable problems for your bills.
Heat and Air Leaks
Ineffective windows will not only create unpleasant drafts but also provide an easy conduit for your valuable heat to leave your building. A building with a strong thermal envelope will reduce the temperature at a far slower rate; sealed windows, thick curtains and insulation help reinforce your thermal envelope. Of course, windows will always be a weak spot in your building’s heating, but by finding the ones that need resealing, homeowners can eliminate these leaks and save significantly on their energy bills.
Missing Insulation
Insulation that has become ineffective over time or is absent is easy to spot with a thermal imaging camera. Wall and roof insulation is required to combat the cost of living crisis as they are highly effective at improving your home’s ability to retain the heat you are paying for. Our cameras reveal weak areas as hot spots as your valuable heat freely passes outside.
The advantage of choosing thermal imaging cameras is that they specialise in non-invasive surveys. These passive scans can even reveal condition information of sub-surface elements like heating or electrics without you needing to damage the walls or floors. This lets you keep your property intact and reveal every fault you wish to fix efficiently and clearly.
Recommended Thermal Camera Models
At Thermascan, we stock a broad range of thermal imaging cameras to suit many applications, but not every camera will be what you need. Our extensive catalogue covers cameras suited to hazardous industrial environments, automated temperature monitoring and the effective building survey cameras you’re looking for. Here are some of our recommended cameras for thermal imaging building surveys.
FLIR EXX Series
The EXX range comprises more advanced thermal imaging cameras but will significantly increase resolution and detail for your thermal survey. Both these camera series have often been used for in-depth building surveys as their increased capabilities can analyse sub-surface details such as plumbing and electrics in greater detail. They also offer wireless image upload, focus-free capabilities, and multi-spectral image storage. However, this camera is at the higher end of the selection recommended for domestic surveys.
Success Stories
Whilst businesses will often choose to hire or even purchase a thermal imaging camera to assess their commercial or industrial property, domestic homeowners may worry about the cost; but there is another way. One recent popular solution for groups of homeowners combating the cost of living crisis is to pool their money together to hire a single camera that they share.
This innovative solution enables homeowners to survey their homes with hand-held thermal imaging cameras and reveal the areas that are letting them down and keeping their bills high. Several UK communities in the south of England have already adopted it.
The Gunnislake Community Matters (GCM) consists of several homeowners of Calstock Parish in Sout East Cornwall. With funding help from a local councillor, Dorothy Kirk, the group purchased a thermal imaging camera for voluntary use amongst the local residents, with excellent results for the users. A group inspired them in the nearby village in Wiltshire, which implemented the same idea.
The South Gloucestershire Council has instituted a program to lend thermal cameras to local people who wish to assess the condition of their homes or businesses. The popularity of this scheme has proved how much people learn when using a thermal imaging camera and how much they can save when they fix these previously hidden problems.
Thermal Imaging Camera Hire With Thermascan
At Thermascan, we stock a wide range of thermal camera models to suit any customer’s budget. All of our cameras come from a leading manufacturer, Teledyne FLIR. With our combination of smartphone modules and hand-held thermal cameras, we are confident that we have the perfect camera for your needs. Contact us to discuss your needs and assist with your thermal camera hire.