thermography

Dear Peckham Power Energy Efficiency group,

The Newsletter that was sent last night become corrupted so I'm sending it again!  Apologies!

I hope you're enjoying the sun! Just a quick update:

Firstly, if you haven't done so already then please do comment on the proposal that Peckham Power should ask Southwark Council for an infrared camera for surveying social housing stock. Is IR Thermography a suitable project for Peckham Power? Is it worthwhile? The debate is here:

The Energy Efficiency group had our second meeting on Thursday 12.03.09.  At that meeting, Hal-Luke made a persuasive argument that Peckham Power should get involved in the business of Infrared Thermography.  What is Infrared Thermography?  It's the use of a camera which can see infrared radiation and hence can quickly determine where heat is leaking from a property.  Here is a photo from WikiPedia showing a normal house in the background and a Passivhaus in the foreground:

Hal-Luke's idea is that Peckham Power should ask Southwark Council for the funds to buy an IR camera so that Southwark can commission Peckham Power to undertake IR surveys of social housing stock.  The performance of housing stock which has been insulated (e.g. with cavity wall insulation or with solid-wall insulation) can be checked with the IR images and if the insulation proves to be faulty then claims can be made against the guarantees supplied with the installation.  There is evidence that many insulation installations do not perform as well as they are supposed to (e.g. large gaps in cavity fills).  With luck, the IR images will help to ensure that all the insulation installed in the borough performs well, hence reducing energy consumption and improving comfort for occupiers.

Is IR Thermography a suitable project for Peckham Power to take on?  Are there lower hanging fruit (e.g. draft-proofing) that we should address first?  Is IR Thermography sufficiently community orientated for Peckham Power?  Voice your opinion in this forum thread!