We can help you take control of your energy at home: with expert, pocket-sized, easy-to-use thermal imaging technology

We know many of you will be feeling the cold as freezing temperatures continue to grip Europe this winter. And in the face of ever-increasing energy prices, you may be putting more demand on your central heating to keep your home and your family warm. But how much of that heat leaks out of the house unseen?

Intelligent home climate management company tado° examined 80,000 homes in 11 European countries between December 2019 and January 2020 and found that 

a home in the UK with an indoor temperature of 20°C and outside temperature of 0°C loses 3°C on average after five hours.

And that’s not all. UK homes are losing heat three times faster than houses in Norway and Germany. This is mainly due to the fact that the UK has the oldest housing stock in Europe, with 36.5% of homes having been built before 1945. Therefore, if you live in the UK in an old home, you’re especially exposed to the combined effect of rising energy prices and energy loss. In his Autumn Statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt extended government help with energy costs, but at a less generous level—meaning millions of homeowners will still face higher bills. For example, BBC analysis of the Autumn Statement suggests that a typical three-bedroom house in the UK can expect average annual energy costs to rise to £3,000 from April 2023. So, as the crisis deepens and the temperatures drop, it’s hard not to feel out of control.

Now is the time to be proactive

Whilst we cannot control the crisis, Teledyne FLIR can help you take control of your own energy usage—now and into the future. FLIR designs and manufactures thermal imaging cameras specifically for homeowners, to help you see the unseen: identifying heat that is potentially leaking out through draughty and poorly insulated areas of your home. 

“For homeowners, a thermal camera is an excellent tool for finding energy thieves”

Mats Henriksson, Senior Director of Product Management at Teledyne FLIR, passionately believes that whilst we all might be feeling the financial strain, we have the power to make changes that will help save energy and money as well as support people and the planet. “Everything you can do as a homeowner to reduce energy loss is not only a short-term benefit for yourself, it is also an important part of the difficult fight against climate change,” says Mats.

The major first step in this is to reduce the amount of energy your home is wasting through poor insulation, draughts, and other issues. “For homeowners, a thermal camera is an excellent tool for finding energy thieves – it can be sub-standard or missing insulation, construction errors, unwanted draughts, damp, or water damage. In many cases this gives you an opportunity to better understand what action to take before the problem grows, preventing more costly house renovations,” Mats explains.

Take control of your energy with FLIR thermal cameras

FLIR ONE^® Series—meet our market-leading range of thermal cameras, designed especially for homeowners. These affordable smartphone attachment thermal imaging cameras simply plug in to your phone or tablet to identify and assess energy loss with speed, precision, and clarity, helping you to become more aware of inefficiencies around your home and where to prioritise your efforts. These cameras work with the free FLIR Home Inspect app that offers a step-by-step guide for you to survey your house. The top-of-the-range FLIR ONE Edge Pro is compatible with our secure cloud storage system, FLIR Ignite^TM, which allows you to instantly upload images and videos to the cloud, where you can edit, organise, store, and share your findings. “The FLIR ONE Edge Pro is the most versatile and advanced thermal-visible mobile camera yet thanks to its detachable form factor, designed to fit comfortably in your hand,” says Chris Bainter, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Teledyne FLIR. The good news, he says, is it’s now easier than ever to carry out an inspection of your home. “In addition to the new hardware design, Teledyne FLIR is providing more software tools to empower new and untrained users to conduct thermography inspections, process images, and create reports.”

FLIR C5—this is a thermal camera that does not require a smart phone and is suitable if you live in an older property, suffering from draughts, under-performing or missing insulation, and plumbing issues. With its 5-megapixel visual camera and LED flashlight, the C5 will help you hunt down hidden problems with ease. This thermal camera also automatically upload to the FLIR Ignite cloud so you can review, organise, and share.

No need for extra training

Mats is confident that you don’t need to be an expert to fix certain issues. Many can easily be carried out with low-cost DIY solutions, “Some examples where you as a homeowner can use the camera yourself is to localise poor sealing around windows and doors and find spots in the walls with missing insulation or water intrusion," says Mats. "It can also be a first step before contacting a specialist if more serious problem areas are identified.” Armed with these insights, it’s surprising how much energy you can save by making small adjustments like adding draught excluders, curtains and missing insulation. It all adds up.

So, what does this technology cost? The FLIR ONE range of thermal cameras start from £226.80 (inc. VAT). While not inconsiderable, it may just be the best investment you make this year when you consider the potential future energy savings. Mats reassures that it will help save you money in the long term; “For homeowners it is a great way to understand where there are improvements to be made. With high energy prices and possible risks of spending money on the wrong improvements, in relation to other spending, it is a relatively small investment," Mats explains. He adds, "The camera can also be used for many other things around the home: from locating heating pipes in the floor and electrical cables in walls and ceilings, to seeing in the dark in a blackout.”

Thinking long term, it is worth remembering that houses—new and old—are living, breathing structures. They expand and shrink to changes in temperature, which means that the fabric of your house may begin to move and behave differently. A newly built house, for instance, will ‘settle’ over time, so there may be a delayed effect to things like draughts, which you may not necessarily notice at first. And the same is true as owners carry out improvements and DIY: the character and performance of your home will likely change through the years. So, there are many reasons to seriously consider investing in a thermal camera especially since it will help you stay on top of your energy management, now and over the coming years.

Welcome to a new age of energy literacy

The energy crisis is proving to be a giant, global wake-up call to the realities of energy loss, not only for millions of homeowners, but for us at FLIR too. That’s why we are stepping up our efforts to empower you with the knowledge, practical tips and solutions that will hopefully give you the confidence and tools to take control of your energy and finances, as the energy crisis continues to unfold. 

Positive action can start today…

• Feel better informed: read up on our case studies, application stories, use case scenarios and other articles

Find the right product: take a look at the FLIR ONE Pro, FLIR ONE Edge Pro and FLIR C5 thermal cameras to discover the right product for you

• Request info: once you’ve selected your ideal thermal camera, hit ‘Request Info’ on the product page above and our FLIR experts will send you further information, ensuring you get the best out of your new camera.