In our area the average household emits approximately 4.5 tonnes of CO2e each year. A key goal at PeCAN is to help homeowners reduce their emissions – at the same time reducing their energy bills and increasing the comfort levels of their home.
For most homeowners, heating will be the largest contributor to their energy bills during the winter months. When it is cold outside all houses lose heat through the roof, walls, floor, windows, and doors. How much heat is lost drives how much heat you need to produce to keep your home warm. So minimising heat loss is one of the most effective ways of reducing your energy bills.
How can you determine where heat is being lost in your home? One approach is look at your home with a thermal camera which measures the infra-red (heat) radiation of an object. A thermal visit can help by identifying hot spots from the outside of your home or cold spots from inside your home using a thermal image camera. Thermal cameras work best when there is at least a 10°C difference between the internal temperature and the external temperature and so visits are limited to the winter months and are best carried out in the evenings.
Thermal images are a great way of seeing directly where heat is being lost from your home, so that you can do something about this. You may wish to consider installing additional insulation, draught excluders, radiator reflectors, thermal curtains, double or triple glazing and much, much more.
Our thermal imaging project has closed for this season now that the weather is warmer. Please check back for information in the autumn/winter.