1
Initial introduction
Communicating by phone or email, we work to understand your needs and requirements. From this we can provide you a fixed cost for the survey, tailored to your needs.
DOMESTIC THERMAL IMAGING SURVEYS
Why do I need an Infrared Home Survey?
The purpose of an infrared home survey is to identify the major heat leaks within the fabric of a building using entirely non-intrusive means. This involves using an infrared camera and taking advantage of temperature difference between the interior and exterior of the building. From this, we can discern the difference in temperature and thus heat loss.
There are various reasons why a building performs badly in these surveys. Building age, poorly fitted or absent insulation or inadequate construction techniques are some of the major causes. Other problems can also be caused by wear and tear, for example removal and refit of insulation battens within a roof space following work to services. Alternatively, it could be due to failure of door and window seals over time.
Thermal Surveys for new builds
One of our most sought-after services is infrared thermal surveys for new builds. In summary, these surveys focus on the potential faults that arise as a result of inadequate quality control in the modern housing industry. Undoubtedly, the need to build ‘fast and cheap’ has led to a steep rise in the number of homes with in-built defects.
Worryingly, all too often these problems are hidden under the interior finish of the structure. Our thermal imaging allows those defects affecting thermal performance, such as missing insulation in walls, to be detected. These issues can then be raised with the construction company for resolution. Newbuild thermal imaging surveys are similar to standard infrared surveys, but instead focus on typical defects that arise when the building is in violation of part L of the 2023 building regulations.
Why proceed with Red Fox Thermography?
- For peace of mind, all our surveys are carried out by a PCN Category 2 Thermographer. We also conduct our surveys in line with: BS 13187:1999, Thermal performance of buildings – Qualitative detection of thermal irregularities in building envelopes – infrared method.
- We are true heat loss experts, also able to back up our thermal imaging surveys with detailed heat loss calculations. Our background in spacecraft thermal design means we offer unrivalled heat loss expertise.
- Importantly, we are completely independent, and not affiliated with any in insulation or heating installers. Furthermore, our professional reports are entirely objective, and we don’t ‘invent’ problems if your home is performing well.
- We are fully insured to work in your home and provide the advice that we give.
- In addition, we only use fully calibrated high-spec equipment above the UK Thermography Association recommended requirements, providing you with a detailed insight to your home.
"Consumer research of 2,000 UK homeowners commissioned by EDF³ to support the study found that despite the average household living with insulation standards dating back at least 46 years, only a third (37%) of households have ever updated their insulation. In contrast, we update our kitchens every 7 years 11 months."EDF³ (May 2022), Insulation Age Study, 2022, https://www.edfenergy.com/media-centre/news-releases/insulation-age-homes-revealed-be-least-46-years-old
Before
After
Interior walls & ceiling images from an infrared thermal survey, showing poor cavity insulation
What can Infrared Home Surveys detect?
Our Infrared surveys are extremely useful tools for understanding the built environment. By observing the radiated heat from an object, it’s possible for us to see variations due to material type, temperature and underlying behaviour:
Thermal Bridging
Classically, in domestic thermal imaging, variations in radiated heat can be due to thermal bridging. This is where unintentional conductive links between the external fabric of the building and the internal fabric create hot or cold spots depending on temperature difference between inside and out.
Insulation Problems
Where insulation is missing in a wall cavity, the air in the cavity acts to transfer heat from the inside to the exterior. This will show as cold areas on the thermal image, even though the wall appears fine to the human eye. Likewise, missing, or incorrectly installed loft insulation will lead to tell-tale signatures in the thermal images.
External Render Problems
Dis-bonding of external render will often become apparent in thermal surveys. This is due to the trapped air behind the render leading to a different thermal signature to the remainder of the wall.
Damp Issues
Moisture ingress is another factor that can be detected by thermal imaging. This is due to water having a greater capability to retain heat than the normally dry brick or plaster work. Additionally, in humid environments, poorly insulated or ventilated walls and ceilings can become damp, leading to mould growth.
Buried Pipework
Buried hot water pipes will also leave a signature easily picked up in a thermal imaging survey, allowing tracing of leaks and pipe runs.
Air Tightness
Homes require adequate ventilation to ensure that moisture build-up is not excessive, as this can lead to damp and mould problems. Too much ventilation in winter however, can lead to excessive room cooling. Subsequently, your central heating system can work excessively to replace the heat lost to the outside. Sources for draughts can be obvious, such as decaying door seals, or poorly fitting windows. However they can also be less obvious, such as air filtration behind plasterboard. In all these situations thermal imaging is an ideal method to locate and identify these issues.
How does an Infrared Home Survey work?
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Decision to proceed
If you’re happy to proceed, just let us know. There’s no obligation after our initial chat, and we won’t chase you or make you feel under pressure to go with us.
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Initial preparatory visit
Depending on the report requirements, we may arrange a time with you to visit during daylight hours to perform a visual survey of your home. Sometimes this is necessary to capture any critical data for the report and prepare for the later thermal imaging survey.
Importantly, this also gives us (with your consent) the opportunity to capture visual photography of your home to complement the thermographic images in the report.
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Onsite thermal survey
We will work with you to arrange a date and time convenient to you for performing the thermographic survey of your home. Just bare in mind that depending on need, thermal surveys are generally best performed after dark on colder nights.
Our high spec thermal imaging cameras are much more sensitive than visual cameras, and generally we’ll require a good temperature difference between inside an out. This is part of the reason that most of our surveys are performed Autumn through Spring.
These environmental conditions are important to get the best thermographic data. After all, we want to give you the best data we can.
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Completion of report
This will generally follow within 4 weeks of the thermal survey, once we’ve had time to properly process and analyse the images, and give your report the attention it requires.
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Aftercare
Finally, we share the same planet, so helping you address your home insulation needs and CO₂ footprint helps us all. Therefore after you have the report, we’ll happily advise where we can to help you on your path to CO₂ neutrality.
Professional Independent Thermal Imaging Surveys
What does an Infrared Survey Report look like?
We look to present everything in a clear and easy to understand manner – our mantra is honesty, openness and communication.
Our aim is to provide you a report that does not require specialist training or knowledge to understand.
Neither does our responsibility end with the report. We make sure we’re available afterwards to provide advice and feedback on its contents. Just call or email us.
What is included in the Survey Report?
A high quality, professional Thermal Imaging Survey Report will be accurate and fully comprehensive, and won’t omit details which would be needed later on down the line. Our thorough reports go above and beyond ‘standard reporting’. Importantly, they are also individually tailored to each property. We will include the following:
- Introduction and explanation of terminology used to allow the client to understand the contents of the report
- Site information (weather and site plan showing image capture locations for context)
- Camera and equipment calibration certificates
- Detailed visual and thermal inspection findings, presented room by room and also for external profiles
- All thermal images presented side by side with equivalent photos to allow easy comparison
- Simple plain English explanations of the results, highlighting any anomalies but also confirming where survey findings present no concern
- Technical image data allowing expert scrutiny of the report
- Conclusion of our overall findings
- Recommended next steps and suggestions for remedial works if required
- All the necessary data required to pass on to architects, builders and other specialists who may be involved in your home improvements
Cavity Wall Inspections
In addition to our infrared home surveys, we can perform an optional cavity wall inspection to complement our survey report. As a supplement to non-invasive thermal imaging surveys, it can be beneficial for us to see inside existing cavity walls. The inspection can help us to discern whether insulation is present. This can also help us to identify poorly fitted or missing insulation which could lead to condensation issues, mould growth and potentially penetrating damp.
In order to facilitate this we can use a modern high-resolution borescope with integral high-intensity light. We will use this to inspect suspect cavities in your home to address any concerns. Typically, we perform this via a small hole drilled discretely in the mortar between brickwork external to your home. In the case of rendered properties however, it is often best if we perform this from the inside.
Unsure where to start?
Get in contact and we can walk you though the options, with no obligation and no pressure to proceed
