Thermal Imaging Surveys to Buildings In London
A thermal imaging survey to building envelopes, helps to identify air leakage paths as well as thermal insulation defects, such as missing insulation. Thermal imaging can help us quickly target the source of the problem, so you can make informed decisions on repairs.
Depending on your requirements, thermal imaging can range from an external overview of each elevation of the building under review, through to a full building fabric assessment of the fabric carried out internally and externally, this type of BREEAM Thermal Imaging survey is carried out on BREEAM projects.
Infrared Imaging is a non-intrusive inspection survey and provide detailed reports based on the captured images and associated information. Our level 3 qualified thermography engineers have a have amount of experience, having carried out thousands of thermal inspections to wide range of buildings and installations, which enables us to apply building construction and engineering knowledge for all types of projects.
The main benefits of a thermal imaging surveys to building fabrics are:
- Rapid, non-disruptive onsite inspections
- Helps to reduce potential future damage by identifying weak points in the building envelope.
- Clear and concise reports shown in pictures
- Show compliance with project specifications
- Achieve extra credits for BREEAM etc
- Identify and prove substandard work to sub-contractors, such as cladding integrity assessments.
- Highlight the effectiveness of both cooling and heating and installations.
The main deficiencies thermal imaging identifies
Three common types of deficiencies that thermal imaging can be used to assess are air leakage, water penetration, and insulation.
Air Leakage Issues: thermal imaging can also be used to detect air leakage in your building envelope. Air leakage refers to the air inside the building (usually cooled or heated) that exits a building via the building envelope. Air leakage can be detrimental as it can lead to draughts and temperature anomalies resulting in increased heating costs in winter and cooling costs in summer. It can also lead to moisture infiltration leading to deterioration, and even mould growth a major health hazard. To identify air leakage, thermal images can be taken, and thermal anomalies can be found on the building envelope where the hotter or cooler air is entering or exiting the building. With this knowledge, the building envelope can be properly surveyed, and any air leakage paths sealed to prevent further problems in your building. (see photo below).
Water Penetration issues: during the daylight hours (particularly sunny days) your roof and/or walls will absorb heat, as the temperature starts to cool off towards the evening the surface of your building will begin to do so as well. Parts of the building envelope (wall, floor, or roof) that have absorbed water will cool off far more slowly, so the optimum time to undertake thermal survey will be around dusk. when thermal imaging can be used to identify “hot spots” on the building envelope – areas where water has leaked through the building envelope and been absorbed by substrate materials such as insulation etc. As the wet area will stay warm longer, they will show in a different colour to the non-wet areas that have already cooled down. (see photo below).
Insulation Issues: thermal imaging surveys can help diagnose problems due to improper insulation installation. If your insulation in your building envelope is not properly installed, unwanted heat gain or loss can occur. Missing or defective insulation as well as thermal bridging can lead to energy losses that can result in overworked HVAC systems and increased utility costs for the end user. Infrared technology can be used to assess these issues with insulation as the aberrations in temperature due to insulation and thermal bridging will stick be very easily to see when viewed through a thermal camera (see photo below).
What is a thermal image?
A thermal image is effectively an image of thousands of surface temperature measurements, this makes it easy to see where insulation is missing, or air is leaking in or out of a building.
It’s worth noting that visible light forms only a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the only part that humans can see. When pointed at an object or area such as the side of a wall, the sensor on a thermal detection camera allows the user to view the otherwise invisible infrared spectrum, which exists at wavelengths between visible light and microwaves.
The resulting thermal image is usually rendered as a colour map, with the warmer components or regions shown as reds, oranges, and yellows, while cooler parts will typically be shown as purples and blues - green usually indicates areas that are roughly at room temperature.
Our hi specification thermal imaging cameras have a minimum resolution of 640 x 480 and also include a standard shooting mode that works with the visible light spectrum, much like a standard point and shoot digital camera. This allows for easy comparison of two identical shots, the first image in Infrared and the second image in normal photographic mode, this quickly helps to identify specific problem areas once the user steps out from behind the lens and compares images.
Any surveyed objects not generating or absorbing heat will tend towards the surrounding air temperature, so cold air leaking through the building envelope will show as cold patches on the wall, floor or ceilings. Warm air leaking from a building envelope will cause warm patches on the outside wall or roof. Thermal imaging surveys alone can be used as a quick method of finding air leaks in a building structure, however the accuracy can be further improved if used in conjunction with an air tightness test which can better quantify the air leakage of a building.
We can help with your thermal imaging requirements
Our team of APT thermographers are highly experienced in carrying out thermal imaging surveys and have many years’ experience in all aspects of engineering, construction, maintenance, management, and professional survey work and all our thermographic surveys are conducted by engineers qualified in accordance with BS EN 13187
Our thermal imaging equipment is the best and most accurate on the market, ensuring we pick up faults that other equipment may miss. Our reports are professionally presented and are clear, concise, and easy to follow. We endeavour to give our clients a first class service every time.
If you would like to contact us for more information on our thermal imaging services, please contact us on 01525 303905 or email us at info@aptsoundtesting.co.uk.
Alternatively, for more information on how to prepare your building for the thermal imaging survey please visit our website or download our thermal imaging checklist