Thermal Imaging Camera Loan

New Alresford Town Council has purchased a thermal imaging camera to help Alresford residents reduce their carbon emissions and winter fuel bills.

The camera allows you to identify areas of heat loss in your home, so that you can do something about it. Examples include installing additional insulation, draught excluders, radiator reflectors, thermal curtains, double or triple glazing.

The council has donated the camera to New Leaf Alresford, who administer the loan scheme for the town. The thermal imager is loaned for free, although users may wish to make a voluntary donation to New Leaf Alresford to support the scheme.

Another way you can show your support is by sharing some of your images and offering information on how you plan to remedy the heat loss. Where adjustments are made it should be possible to evidence the impact with ‘before and after’ images.

How you can borrow the FLIR ONE Edge Pro

To borrow the thermal camera, you will need to apply to us via email using the icon at the bottom of this page or by emailing enquiries@newleafalresford.org.

You will need to provide photographic proof of identity and a proof of address from the last 3 months.

Once these checks have been completed, we will email you a copy the Loan Agreement for you to confirm and accept.

The camera can be borrowed for up to 2 days at a time, with collection on a Monday and return the following Tuesday or Wednesday or collection on a Thursday with return the following Friday or Saturday.

Collection and return is at Laurence Oxley Ltd, 17 Broad Street, Alresford, SO24 9AW during normal opening hours. These are 9am – 5pm every day except Wednesday when the shop opens at 9.30am. You will need to present ID to the member of staff and sign the register.

To ensure the smooth running of the loan service, a fee of £20 per day will be charged in the event of late return of the camera.

Thermal Imaging and the FLIR ONE Edge Pro Camera

In a typical British home, up to one third of the heat produced by the heating system can be lost through the roof, ceiling and walls. Even if you have double glazing and insulation in place, viewing your home through a thermal camera can help you identify cold spots where you are losing heat. You can find out more about infrared and interpreting thermal images HERE.

The FLIR ONE Edge Pro Thermal Camera connects wirelessly to your smart device so you can easily inspect targets that are out of reach – or clip it onto your phone or tablet for one-handed operation.

You can take crisp thermal images and video from any position or angle with a natural grip and download the images to your phone.

The FLIR ONE Edge Pro is compatible with iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.

Using the Camera

Download the App. You will need to download the latest version of the FLIR ONE app which is available on the Apple App Store for iOS and Google Play Store for Android. We recommend you do this in advance of your loan.
Charging the Camera The camera should be fully charged on receipt. To check, press the power button to turn on the camera and the LED indicators should light up. 3 bars indicates full charge. A USB charge cable is supplied with the camera which will charge to full capacity in about 1 hour. Please place the camera on charge before you return it to us so it is ready to be used by the next recipient. DO NOT USE THE CAMERA WHILST IT IS PLUGGED IN AND CHARGING.
Pairing Devices Open the App on your phone and then switch on the camera by pressing the power button for 3 seconds. Follow the instructions to pair your device to the camera. Confirm you want to join the FLIR ONE network.
For a full guide on using the App and camera follow the instructions supplied with the camera.

Tips on how to Survey

Home heating. Ideally the heating should be on for at least 8 hours before taking thermal images, this allows the building fabric to be properly warmed. However, the heating should be off when you take the images as hot radiators could have an impact.
Ambient temperatures. There should be a minimum 10°C difference between internal and external temperatures.
Low light but not darkness. The best conditions for taking thermal images from outside a property are in low light, for example after sunset or in the early morning.
Weather conditions. Optimal conditions are low humidity, in clear conditions with a low wind speed.

This 4 minute video is a useful quick guide on how to use a thermal camera to survey your home and the ways you can reduce heat loss.

Note: When making improvements to home insulation it is important to maintain ventilation to avoid build up of condensation and damp. Visit our page for professional insulation and double glazing providers.

Residents Gallery

Here we share residents experiences using the camera.

Please email us your pictures with a brief description of what you learned about your home and we will add them to the gallery. This could help our community understand how they can reduce heat loss in their homes.

Taken indoors, showing a ‘cold spot’ in a porch where there is a single brick course below the UPVC.

Options: installing an interior door between the porch and the rest of the home or covering the bricks with an area of stud wall.

Taken outside, this is a redundant cat flap in a UPVC door, showing heat is being lost through the cat flap.

Options: Fill the cat flap void with insulation and a cover or replacing the UPVC door panel would be another solution.

Taken outside, this is an exterior wall of a house, losing heat along its base below the damp course line where the cavity wall insulation didn’t reach.

Options: Next time the carpet is replaced, fit a thermal insulating underlay or a suspended floor with insulation under would be another solution.

Taken indoors, showing cold zones particularly along the bottom edge of these windows show the seals are failing.

Options: Replacing the seals or any filling cracks with decorators caulk can fix the issue.