Energy Saving Advice London
Have you received an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) and now wish to improve your energy efficiency? We use thermal imaging to establish where you are losing the most amount of heat, and then put together a report on the most cost-effective ways to retain heat energy. Some companies will try and sell you external wall insulation, new windows (triple glazing), and even a new heating system.
We won’t. We won’t try and sell you anything except the service to work out what is best for you. We will explain why it is best for you over the alternative options, and we will produce a list of things you can do to retain heat energy, starting from free things, working up to those more expensive. Our energy saving advice will be exactly what you need to ensure your heating bills can be brought down as low as possible.
Heat Energy Saving Advice
We will tailor our energy saving advice report for your specific property’s needs. Whilst simple regular advice can be issued generically, we really do go into depth and explain how this can be achieved to your property.
Generic energy saving advice may consist of a list of basic general steps you could take to reduce the amount of energy that you’re using and lower your utility bills:
- Turn down your thermostat to 68 degrees. For every degree you lower your heat in the 60-degree to 70-degree range, you’ll save up to 5 percent on heating costs (depending upon your supplier and their rates).
- (this isn’t really about your house itself but it is true at a basic level) Wear warm clothing and set your thermostat to 68 degrees or lower during the day and evening, health permitting. Set the thermostat back to 55 degrees or off at night or when leaving home for an extended time, saving 5-20 percent of your heating costs (heat pumps should only be set back 2 degrees to prevent unneeded use of backup strip heating).
- Replace or clean furnace filters. Dirty filters restrict airflow and increase energy use.
- Reduce hot water temperature. Set your water heater to the “normal” setting or 120-degrees Fahrenheit, unless the owner’s manual for your dishwasher requires a higher setting. Savings are 7-11 percent of water heating costs.
- Seal up the energy inefficient leaks (we will find these with thermal imaging). Caulk or silicone leaks around windows and doors. Look for places where you have pipes, vents or electrical conduits that go through the wall, ceiling or floor. Check the bathroom, underneath the kitchen sink, pipes inside a closet, etc. If you find a gap at the point where the pipe or vents passes through the wall; seal it up. Your local DIY shop should have products to close the larger gaps.
- Consider replacing your old gas appliances with more energy efficient systems.
Simple stuff but we have SO VERY MANY MORE TIPS AND ENERGY SAVING TECHNIQUES – you will find that we can offer you lots of cheap or even free ideas that are so very easy to implement, and will immediately improve the property’s energy efficiency.
Thermal Imaging for Energy Saving Advice Assistance
We use thermal imaging to locate:
- Thermal Bridging
- Air Leakage/ Energy Loss
- Discontinuous Insulation
- Water Ingress
- Air Infiltration
- Structural Defects
These can all be points where energy inefficiency occurs, and thermal imaging highlights this for us.
When reviewing the following thermal images, a general rule is that the darker colours represent colder or damper surfaces, and the lighter colours represent hotter or drier surfaces. Internally, where darker colours are observed in the thermal images, these represent areas where heat energy may be being lost a higher rate comparable to areas of brighter colour in the same image.
Externally, where darker colours are observed in the thermal images, these represent areas where heat energy may be being lost a lower rate comparable to areas of brighter colour in the same image. Where one material has a higher density than another, it is often a better conductor of energy and therefore energy may pass through areas that are shown in darker colours at faster rates; accordingly damper/ darker areas may take longer to warm up.
These differences in density and energy transfer provide us with patterns observable using thermal imaging. In the following thermal images, we are particularly interested in the darker colours internally, and brighter colours externally. Darker colours observed internally may represent areas through which energy passes at a greater rate than areas shown as brighter in the same image – these show us points of elevated energy loss and help us provide you with energy saving advice.