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Housing - New Build: Thermal image nightmares?

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  1.  
    • CommentAuthortony
    • CommentTimeFeb 21st 2008
     
    Check out the thermal image pictures of new houses in this article

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/02/18/eahomes118.xml

    Nightmares -- and all in new so called energy efficient construction. --
  2.  
    This snippit made me chuckle

    "the reasons for this are "deeply embedded in the culture, processes and practice at all levels of the house building industry."

    I think the author needs to read our party line.
    • CommentAuthorSaint
    • CommentTimeFeb 21st 2008 edited
     
    Shouldn't the roof be showing a marked difference in colour i.e temperature to the walls?
    • CommentAuthortony
    • CommentTimeFeb 22nd 2008
     
    Probably yes but then it is new house remember
  5.  
    The builders don't deserve to be allowed to continue to develop these sites with this kind of performance. We are saddled with hundreds of thousands of these boxes that will be a nightmare to improve and they are still building them. Maybe the climate change people should be picketing building sites not airports?
    • CommentAuthorchuckey
    • CommentTimeFeb 23rd 2008
     
    Thermal imaging iis very sensitive to the emisitivity (Sp.?) of the surface its looking at. If you look at the top of the gable end, the pattern in the brickwork is directly shown in the IR pic as a difference in surface temperature, which clearly its not!
    I used this kit to find out some overheating part in a 10' X 10' array of aluminium piping. It was totaly useless as the cast ali fitting all showed up as overheating due to their better emisitivity as they were matt silver as opposed to the pipe work that was polished. Its a start though. One way would be to spray the whole building with a matt black paint to give all surfaces a standard emisisivity.
    Frank
    • CommentAuthorSaint
    • CommentTimeFeb 24th 2008
     
    Sorry to be pedantic but I've zoomed in on that photo. Are we absolutely sure that house is occupied??
    If it is occupied shouldn't the roof be showing green if the insulation is working well?
    The major white "hotspot" appears to be the felt roof over a bay window which could have picked up some heat from solar gain although I'm guessing this picture was taken either side of midday on an occluded reasonably cool day. Certainly the ground temperature seems to be in the region of 5C
    In fact what is this picture supposed to be telling us?
    • CommentAuthortony
    • CommentTimeFeb 24th 2008
     
    What about the one with the railings then?

    I assume that the houses were heated and then the pictures taken

    The one with the bay roof could also be no insulation in the roofy bit?
    • CommentAuthorSaint
    • CommentTimeFeb 24th 2008
     
    Hi Tony, I would guess that's some sort of high emissivity membrane or flashing same as the situation on the top of the bay window. If what you suggest was the scenario, that still begs the question why is the roof showing such an apparently high heat loss when it should be insulated at ceiling level with 300mm (or thereabouts) mineral wool, or its "equivalent"?
    • CommentAuthortony
    • CommentTimeFeb 24th 2008
     
    because it isnt!
  11.  
    It is very difficult to diagnose what is happpening here from the photographs alone. It would be very interesting to have access to the full report, which the Telegraph says was published last Wednesday. Even more interesting to have a look at the building close up.

    That said here's my thoughts. All total conjecture of course

    The red area at the front of the building is adjacent to several windows. While the cills are clearly the greatest thermal bridge, there is probably some bridging where the cavity is closed at reveals, although DPC with insulation stuck to it may have been used. Anyway, anyone who has ever laid a brick will tell you that it is these areas of the construction which are most difficult to insulate properly, especially with partial -fill. Also high potential for increased infiltration losses in these areas.

    Re insulation at ceiling level- do we even know if there is a flat ceiling? The height of the windows in relation to the eaves indicates that ceilings are at least partially vaulted
    • CommentAuthorDoctorJez
    • CommentTimeFeb 25th 2008
     
    The thermal images were ripped by the Telegragh journalist (without permission) from a Stamford Brook PII project interim report available at http://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/as/cebe/projects/stamford/pdfs/del7coheating.pdf
    This report discusses the results of a series of coheating tests that investigated heat losses via uninsulated party walls.. The thermal images were indeed taken during on overcast and cold day - with high delta-T due to the elevated internal temperatures.
    The executive summary of the final report (draft) is also available from the Stamford Brook project web page at
    http://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/as/cebe/projects/stamford/pdfs/del8execsum.pdf
    The interetation of thermal images is very difficult and can be influenced by a range of factors some of which are mentioned in the comments above.
  13.  
    Thank you Dr Jez. We should of course know better than to comment on quotations and ripped images, which often do not give the complete picture. No pun intended

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