Thermography in the energy certificate

Depending on the type of property to be certified, it will be viable or not the use of thermography in the certificate energetic.

The use of infrared thermography in audits energy, in energy certificates of buildings and installations is more and more frequent since it serves as a support the technician to diagnose power losses and the owner to be able to view them. The thermography in the energy certificate helps the technician to diagnose and forcefully and effectively locate losses power sources or the state of the insulation that later we will reflect in the Report.

What is thermography?

Thermography is a non-invasive technique that allows measuring temperatures at a distance by capturing radiation infrared of the electromagnetic spectrum “making visible the invisible.”

How does thermography work?

All materials that are at a certain temperature above absolute zero (0 K, -273ºC) emit energy infrared. The energy emitted in the infrared band is converted into an electrical signal by the detector (microbolometer), this signal is converted into an image in black and white or color.

Infrared radiation is defined as that which it has a wavelength between 0.78 µm and 1000 µm (microns). Infrared rays are subdivided based on proximity of wavelength to visible light as near, middle, or far away.

Thermal imaging cameras detect infrared radiation invisible that objects emit and transforms it into an image within the visible spectrum in which the color scale (or gray) reflects the different intensities.

The intensity of infrared radiation is a function of the temperature but not only of it, also influence the surface characteristics of the object, the heat and the type of materials.

Uses and applications of thermography infrared in buildings and therefore in the certificate energetic.

1. Inspection of loss and leakage of thermal energy for buildings (plants, maquiladoras, hotels, buildings government, etc.)
2. Assessment of moisture/leakage for buildings. (Identifies parts of roofs damaged by water, quickly and efficiently)
3. Concrete integrity inspections.
4. Inspections on overheated floors, location of leakage and temperature distribution.
5. Locates damaged or insufficient insulation.
6. Locate cables, conductors or pipes overheated.
7. Tightness measurements, air leak detection “Blower door”
8. Quality control.
9. Preventive and predictive maintenance.

For procedure and different technical aspects in the realization of a thermography guides are already provided to the end of this post. What we are interested in is analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of thermography in the certificate energetic:

Advantages of thermography over the energy certificate:

1. Rapid data collection. so we can get faster conclusions.
2. You can see “what the eyes don't see”. In this way we can issue a report with a higher technical quality, with more concrete and timely results.
3. Data collection can be global, encompassing “all the façade" and to know the thermal behavior of the façade as its singular points such as the bridges thermal.

Disadvantages of thermography before the certificate energetic:

1. The measurement should be performed only at night to avoid direct solar radiation, how much maximum is the difference between inside and outside, the better.
2. "Air speed" should be avoided (less than 1 m/s) to avoid convection phenomena.
3. Stable temperature conditions, both indoors and outdoors. outside in the building. The materials must have stored a sufficient amount of heat.
4. The temperature in the measurement must be at least 10-15ºC. Very important condition.

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The conclusion we can draw is that the use of thermographic cameras in the energy certificate initially It is not viable in the realization of properties of little entity such as individual homes in buildings given the complexity in data collection and stability requirements in terms of temperature... etc, without counting the cost of the cameras “they are not cheap”. Another issue is when a audit or energy certificate of an entire building, where the budget allocated for this purpose is higher.

Guides:

1. From Land. Basic Guide to Thermography.
2. From Testo. Practical guide to Thermography.
3. From the IDAE (Infrared Thermography – Applications in saving and energy efficiency)
4. From flir. Infrared handbook for applications construction.
5. Examples of thermography in housing. Analysis.
6. Infrared thermography in the diagnosis of rehabilitation of the facades.
7. The principles of thermography. Introduction and application.

From Alava Engineers:

1. Thermography for diagnosis of Buildings
2. Thermal cameras for inspections in the construction.
3. Guide on thermography for applications in buildings and renewable energy.

Videos:

1. What is infrared thermography?
2. Energy efficiency with Flir thermography.
3. Thermography for the energy efficiency of Buildings. (Recommended)

Bug fixes: We need to clarify that we are not experts in Thermography and as such, in In this article there are some errors that should be clarified since our purpose is to learn. In view of this circumstance, a colleague of ours with a lot of experience in the sector has written a post which points out and clarifies different concepts in the portal Intermal Engineers HERE. From Home Repair Care we want to thank you for your article for giving us your experience.

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