Why is a thermal imaging survey of a house or cottage necessary?

Heat loss can be a huge problem for owners of private houses and cottages. Huge energy bills and, at the same time, the house is still uncomfortable, the family wears warm clothes and slippers. Our site of advice will tell you how you can identify weak points in the insulation of a house, find cold bridges.

For you to understand the importance of conducting a thermal imaging survey of houses, we inform you that in our country there is Federal Law No. 261 dated 23.11.2009, which regulates the conduct of an energy audit of the housing stock. In addition, GOSTs and SNiPs are in effect in this area, in particular, RD-13-04-2006 and GOST 26254-84. The state is interested in spending as little money as possible on heating residential buildings. In particular, checking the house with a thermal imager must be carried out after major repairs and reconstruction..

Of course, the owners of private houses themselves are also interested in reducing heating bills. Therefore, it is advisable for them to think about the need to check their home using such a modern device as a thermal imager..

When you just need to conduct a thermal imaging survey at home:

• You have decided to buy a finished cottage. The seller assures that it is very warm, additional insulation was carried out, the entire heating system is working perfectly. Should the seller be trusted? The question is rhetorical, because he is interested in increasing the value of his cottage. And it is impossible to see the layer of insulation under the finishing finish! How to evaluate the quality of installation of windows and doors. To independently understand that the seller did not lie and the cottage is really warm, you need to spend the winter in it. It is much more reliable to inspect the house with a thermal imager even before buying it, to identify weak points. If problems are found, this will reduce the price, that is, save. Or refuse to buy a cold house in time.
• The house is new, just built. The contractor also assures that the building turned out to be energy efficient, everything was done correctly, the roof, the foundation and the facade were insulated. Even if the owners visited the construction site on a daily basis, they are not 100% sure of this. You never know, there may have been mistakes during construction and decoration. It is advisable to conduct an energy audit of the building before moving in order to correct errors in a timely manner. If the house was built with your own hands, the risk of mistakes in the insulation process is also high. Therefore, a thermal imaging survey will definitely not hurt.
• Heating bills have gone up. Last winter, the owners spent, for example, 20 thousand rubles on energy, and this heating season, costs have increased significantly. At the same time, it did not become warmer in the house. This means that you need to urgently take action, change the insulation, for example, solve the problem. It is not clear where exactly the heat leakage occurs, what is the matter. Only a thermal imager will show the owners where the heat literally “leaks” in their house.
• The rooms are just uncomfortable. It is damp, cool, there are drafts, mold has appeared in the corner … Obviously something is wrong and you need to take action. After a thermal imaging survey, the problem can be solved based on clear and accurate data..

The possibilities for thermal imaging of a house are very great. Such a check will help detect:

• Cold bridges, places through which heat escapes from the house to the street, including gaps in door seals and double-glazed windows.
• Problems with the tightness of the roof, which is fraught with not only heat loss, but also leakage.
• Leakage in the screed, which is completely invisible without opening the entire finish.
• Cracks in walls and foundations.
• Problems with ventilation at home.
• Problems in the heating system, areas, for example, with airy pipes.
• Problems in the operation of electrical equipment.
• Concealed pipes and wiring. A very useful additional option, because often the owners have no idea where communications take place in their old house. And they may need replacement.

As you can see, a thermal imaging survey is by no means just a search for heat leaks. These include diagnostics of the heating system, search for wiring and pipes, diagnostics of electrical equipment. That is, an almost complete report on the condition of the building, its communications.

As a result, the owner of the house or the potential buyer of the cottage gets:

• An accurate idea of ​​how energy efficient the building is, where there are problem areas and whether mistakes were made during construction, insulation, reconstruction.
• Action plan to be implemented to improve the heat saving situation.
• Understanding what and where needs to be changed, repaired, corrected.

Without a thermal imager, it will be possible to identify problems with the insulation only after dismantling the entire finish. In the case of a façade, for example, this means removing the siding and examining the condition of the mineral wool underneath. Using a thermal imager can significantly save both time and money.

There are two ways to conduct a thermal imaging survey of a private house or apartment: buy your own compact thermal imager or order this service from professionals. The first method has a plus in that, having spent once on a modern device, you can use it many times. The downside is that thermal imagers cost a lot – at least 20-50 thousand rubles for the simplest models. In addition, you still need to learn how to use the device, you need experience!

Inspection of a cottage with an area of ​​up to 150 square meters by professionals with a thermal imager will cost 5 thousand rubles, houses with a larger area – 7 thousand rubles. The plus is that a full energy audit of the building will be carried out, you will receive not only a report on cold bridges and detected cracks in the wall, but also recommendations on how to solve these problems. It is up to you to choose, but in any case, thermal imaging is very useful and, as a result, quickly pays for itself by reducing energy costs.