Now that it's winter, I'm starting to be concerned about why our house gets cold quickly. I figure the best way to spot the problems might be to point a thermal imaging camera at it and see where the heat is escaping, be it through a bad window, a particular wall or roof etc.. Are these easily obtainable, either to rent/borrow/loan or buy - if they're not dead expensive? I've tried places like GadgetShop and Maplin, but not found anything.
Any ideas?
Cheers
andyt
No, they aren't cheap. They aren't difficult to buy, but you'd be looking at a minimum of 5-10k for one.
Because of the price, and the fact that there isn't a great deal of demand, not many people hire them out.
If you really, really want to have a go, approach your local uni's engineering dept - they may have one, but I'd be very surprised if they lent it to you.
Try a post to if you get no success here. I've known them to be hired in for special effects. But haven't a clue from where.
But don't mention what it's actually for - they can be a 'funny' lot on there.;-)
On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 10:55:46 +0000, Andy Turner cacked this treat out!!
for the roof... wait till it snows, i did, i noticed that my roof hadnt anysnow on it and the others had, this meant that the loft wasnt insulated properlee and the heat was escaping through it.....I then isulated it properly and snow is now settleling on my roof ,problem solved a free and easy way..just an idea you could try
CCD cameras are generally IR sensitive, though whether the frequency response goes down low enough for what you want I don't know, so you could try a CCD camera at night with the lights off.
Higher end cameras may have an IR blocking filter built in, you can check this by pointing an IR remote at the camera and looking to see if the LED's visible. Sony added IR filters after it's cameras were being used as 'X-ray specs' type cameras to see through clothes.
In message , Andy Turner writes
Nowhere near long enough wavelength. Out by a mile.
Still won't help with thermal imaging.
Visible (red) ends ~700nm. A ccd might pick up all the way to
850-900nm. For thermal imaging you need 3-12um.
CCD response generally only goes out as far as about 1.2 micron (1200nm) wavelength, which is only suitable for detecting heat at temperatures of
400C or more.
True, but IR LEDs operate at about 800nm or so (0.8 micron)
Sony added IR filters after it's cameras were being
B0IIoks, urban myth.
The real reason for the IR filter is to improve the devices modulation transfer function (MTF) as the CCDs response to short wavelength generally causes an apparent defocussing of the image.
Thermal imagers usually work in the range 8 - 20 microns or more to detect body heat/room temperature objects.
You can hire them from various places for about £500 a week if you do a search.
Dave
A much easier solution would be to calculate the heatlosses using either a table of U values or a program from one of the radiator manufacturers such as Barlo or Myson. Myson's web site is under reconstruction, but I can email you a copy of their program if you want it.
Essentially, you measure each surface in metres, look up the U value for the type of material and multiply by the temperature difference across it to determine the heat loss in watts. The programs do this arithmetic for you and add the results.
In most houses, the walls and the windows are responsible for the largest heat loss assuming that you have at least some insulation in the loft. Are the walls solid brick or with a cavity? Are they insulated?
It's also important to check into drafts and reduce them if they are a problem. However, don't try to hermetically seal the place. If the walls and windows are big losers of heat then you will create a condensation problem.
.andy
To email, substitute .nospam with .gl
A number of years ago I borrowed the company camera for an evening. It picked up all the heat loss areas including a few small gaps between the window frame and wall which was covered by internal wallpaper.
Ideal camera for searching out those not so obvious heat loss areas or pipe blockages etc.
Not really an urban myth. When these low-light cameras were in the news etc it was shown that underwear etc were visible through light clothing when normal cameras didn't show anything. Not 'x-ray specs' but certainly enough to make most people embarassed when they were shown what the cameras showed.
D
Sprinkle grated cheese over your house. Turn up the heating and check to see where it melts.
Not sure if it applies to house holder but check this site out.
That was nothing to do with IR, but more to do with the improved S/N ratio in the CCD and the higher gain applied to it for low light performance (effectively the contrast ratio was increased).
That's a crock, monsieur........
.andy
To email, substitute .nospam with .gl
Not sure if it applies to house holder but check this site out.
Really interesting site thanks for that
You can hire an IR camera from HSS (one call)but it is £750:00 a day (£1250:00 a week) . Can "see" 40°C to 500° C.
And in what way would that be useful exactly? How many parts of the outside of the house would you expect to be at 40C at this time of year?
What about using IR film in an ordinary film camera? Google turned up 'KODAK EKTACHROME Professional Infrared EIR Film'. And you get to use that little red focusing dot on posh cameras.
Phil
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