More Information on the iRed® Thermal Survey

iRed® Thermal Survey report

Performance Rating Each image contained in the following report will be assessed for thermal performance with a score Red, Amber, Green or Blueassigned to it. The Four elements looked at will be: Roof Elevation Windows Doors

The criteria that will determine the rating given are as follows:

Green	5: Very Good	No substantive evidence of any heat loss through this element of the building (Used only for passive house type building & not likely to feature on an established site)
	4: Good	Little evidence of heat loss or any other thermal anomaly.
Amber	3: Common	Some evidence of heat loss or other thermal anomaly. This should be monitored as deterioration may occur. May offer opportunities for improvement within an energy savings programme.
	2: Inadequate	Discernible areas of heat loss or other anomaly that should be investigated and incorporated into any future energy savings programme.
Red	1: Poor	Evidence of one or more significant thermal issues that will have detrimental effect to the energy efficiency and operational effectiveness of the building
NA	0: Undetermined	NA; No clear evidence available from the thermograms to make an assessment.

 

Once the individual assessments have been made, each building will be given an average score for each of the Four elements mentioned above.

Summary of results from Thermal Survey February 2022

This chart is a summary of the Thermal Survey reports from February 2022. In total 72 survey reports were completed.

The iRed® Process

iRed® surveys are carried out in accordance with BRE 176 and BS EN ISO 13187 standards. Accordant with these standards, iRed® use specific criteria for capturing accurate and reliable thermal data on-site.

These are as follows:

1. In order to effectively ‘see’ heat loss (or gain), buildings should maintain at least a 10oC temperature split between the interior and exterior for the duration of the survey. For unoccupied buildings, this difference should be achieved for 72 hours prior to the survey.
2. Before a survey, building surfaces must be dry to ensure that artificial cooling from moisture evaporation does not affect the results. For heavy building fabrics such as brick, it’s recommended that surfaces have been dry for at least 24 hours. For lightweight buildings, a minimum of 12 hours is recommended.
3. All areas must be free from obstructions such as furniture and building materials. Any obstructions must be moved at least 24 hours before the start of a survey, in order for local temperature conditions to stabilise.
4. Building surfaces should be free from solar radiation for a minimum of 2 hours prior to the start of the survey – longer if the building consists of a heavyweight fabric. This is to allow for the effect of external heat gain in the wall to dissipate.
5. Wind speed during a survey should not exceed 5m/s (18kph). This is to avoid a cooling effect on the building fabric. It’s advised that If these requirements cannot be met during a thermal imaging survey, the results and recommendations within a report may be limited and not fully actionable.

Depending on the report type and environmental conditions at the time of the survey, thermal images will also be accompanied by a temperature scale. These scales allow an observer to equate a colour or shade with a certain temperature for further analysis. To provide clarity, iRed® utilise the ‘rainbow’ palette for reports due to the relatively narrow temperature range within which a building is exposed. During the processing stage, iRed® aim to provide consistency in thermal production settings, enabling a direct visual comparison to be made between elevations and other points of interest.

References

During surveys iRed® aim to record temperatures as accurately as possible. However, any absolute values obtained during a survey should be considered as advisory only. Many factors, including distance, material change, emissivity and variable environmental conditions can all adversely affect results. Where possible, surveys are carried out in accordance with the criteria set out in:

• BRE 176 (A Practical Guide to Infrared Thermography for Buildings)
• BRE IP 1/06 (Assessing the effects of thermal bridging at junctions and around openings)
• BS EN ISO 13187:1999 (Thermal Performance of Buildings – Qualitative Detection of Thermal Irregularities in Building Envelopes – Infrared Method)

Reports are designed to provide sufficient data to allow a competent third-party to replicate both the process and findings presented in this report.

Summary of results from Thermal Survey February 2022