ENERGY
ENERGY CONSERVATION MADE EASIER
WITH INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY
can be quickly and easily identified using
a thermographic camera See Figures 1-3.
With a high-quality thermographic
camera operating with 640 x 480 pixels
a 30 mm lens a Field of View (FOV) of
5.3m x 4.0m can be seen in one image
from a distance of 10m with each pixel
covering an area of just 0.8 x 0.8cm. If
this FOV is smaller than required the
solution is to use a professional camera
Fig 2: Wall with damp
which has the option of interchangeable
lenses. If a wide-angle lenses is used the
countries with a history of reducing FOV increases of course this is at the
Fig 1: House having insulation problems
energy consumption infrared expense of the geometric resolution as the
thermography has been long established size covered by each pixel also increases.
as an effective and efficient method of However there are new cameras on the
doing this. The technology is based on market with 1280 x 960 pixels which
the physical phenomenon that objects means you can have a large FOV without
with a temperature above absolute zero running into resolution problems. Using
(0.0 K or -273.15°C) emit one of these new high-resolution cameras
electromagnetic radiation. By with four times as many pixels as a 640 x
determining the intensity of this radiation 480 and more than ten times the number
the surface temperature of the emitting of a 384 x 288 camera a large but also
object can be calculated. very clear and crisp image can be
Problematic areas on a building like obtained using a wideangle lens.
Fig 3: Leaking pipe
poor insulation, damp and leakages but Lenses of course should also be of a
also problems with electrical installations high quality as this determines how much
F
ollowing the introduction of of the infrared energy from the
the government’s energy
Fig 4
measured object is received by
strategy in 2006 energy the camera detector. For building
conservation became a focus thermography it is advisable to
for ordinary people as well as use a camera fitted with a high
industry trying to find many
more ways to save energy. Going hand
in hand with a reduction of energy losses
is a reduction in energy cost which
means facility managers of both
commercial and residential properties
are under pressure to cut the losses.
Legislation in place is based on the
target laid down in the Kyoto protocol
from 1997 which aims to reduce the
emission of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gasses. The European Union
Fig 6
passed legislation covering the increase
Fig 5 Above
Fig 6 Below
in energy efficiency of buildings
(2002/91/EG). In the UK the first phase
of this legislation came into effect in April
2006 supported financially by the Low
Carbon Building Programme for example
and the second phase is now running
under the supervision of the Building
Research Establishment (BRE).
Legislation is one thing but you then
have the problem of identifying buildings
that are performing badly from an
energy efficiency point of view. In
Figures 4 & 5: 320x240 pixels
Figures 6 & 7: Megapixel resolution
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SUSTAINABLE FM | OCTOBER 2007
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