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In winter 24/25 UDCE thermal Imaging illuminated home efficiency possibilities for a further 13 homes. Our third year of thermal imaging has taken us to over 60 homes! This winter we moved from a free of charge service to a £30 a survey or whatever you can pay – see below. A quote from one home owner was “I found it satisfying to learn more about how the house was performing. The report and recommendations have brought my focus to aspects I wasn't aware of and the improvements won't be as costly as I'd feared.” We have helped in particular two homes that easily could save a significant amount of energy from relatively low-cost improvements. That meant however, that these homes had been unnecessarily cold and lacking comfort for many years. Our surveys aren't just about locating cold spots our surveyors, given their experience, can identify causes and help to point towards potential solutions.
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By Barry Tylee
The Labour Government has pledged to make Britain self-sufficient in renewable energy and make the UK a world leader in floating offshore wind, nuclear power, and hydrogen. However, it would be overlooking a major source of energy – the old coal mines beneath many of our northern cities, including under Stocksbridge and the surrounding area. All these mines are flooded, the deeper the mine the warmer the water and the more energy that can be obtained via a heat pump. When you think of the effort over many centuries to dig the coal out, leaving large cavities which flood; it’s good to think that this can generate energy once again. My house has been heated satisfactorily by an air-source heat pump since 2010, even though the building is very old and has solid walls; so, I’m a great enthusiast for these devices, which now have an efficiency of 300% to 500%. Over the years, the Upper Don Community Energy and its fore runner have tried to encourage local developments over old coal mines to consider this as a source of energy. After all, there are plenty of examples to look at now. including whole towns in Europe, such as, Heerlen in the Netherlands where there’s a hot water network which you can plug your house into. However, it’s difficult to attract finance for such schemes. With regards to large-scale PV and wind turbines, while the capital expenditure is large, the return on the investment can almost be guaranteed as the amount of solar radiation or wind in an area is known with certainty. With regards to mines, if there aren’t open water sources to tap into, then boreholes must be made and this is where the risk becomes large and the outlay costs expensive. You need the bore holes to hit the desired flooded galleries to avoid the need to drill any more expensive holes. With old mines, where the mapping was maybe inaccurate and used room and pillar mining, a bore hole might just hit a pillar of coal and be useless. With more recent coal fields, the retreat method of mining might mean the mined cavity has subsided so leaving much less warm water. However, there are still plenty of schemes around the county to show that this works – a new one in the northeast of a partially-community owned mine water and heat network supplying 100 homes, 5 businesses and a green house. The temperature of the mine water here is 16 degrees centigrade, which is much more than annual surface water or air temperature, and which generates much more heat. The capital cost of this is about £8.5M, with a return on the investment of 10%. I would hope that we can persuade the new Great British Energy to underwrite the risk from these schemes and so make a major contribution to renewable energy throughout the country, and it would be nice to see one heating homes and businesses in the Upper Don! UDCE Invited to join South Yorkshire Sustainability Event
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Upper Don were delighted to take part in this March's ‘Our Future, Our South Yorkshire’ event, organised by the South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre. It seems that all participants had an insightful and inspirational time, learning more about how we can work together as a region to promote sustainability and resilience. As average global temperatures have continued to rise, the focus was on climate change mitigation and how we can support a just and sustainable transition to net-zero for the region.
Find out more about the event here:
https://www.sysustainabilitycentre.org/stories/our-future-our-south-yorkshire
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The Climate Re-Assemblies Live Project saw architecture students from the University of Sheffield School of Architecture and Landscape partner with the Climate Reassemblies Research Group to explore how spatial design could help to increase civic engagement with climate policy. The recommendations produced by the South Yorkshire Citizens Assembly on Climate (SYCAC) in December 2023 had led to little action since, and the design team were challenged to continue the research group’s work in continuing democratic discussion around these recommendations. By creating “support structures” and “rehearsal spaces” for meaningful climate dialogue, the project sought to make climate issues more accessible and relational to place, in order to catalyse community-driven action.
By identifying peri-urban spaces (the rural-urban fringe) as an under-explored context for these climate conversations, the research was ‘placed’ in the Upper Don Valley. Working with the Upper Don Community Energy (UDCE) group, the team began to map the existing ecologies of social and environmental care in the area. Their work culminated in an experimental physical structure which presents the past and present climate realities of the area in a fun and engaging way. It invites people to speculate about the future, by contributing to the sculpture with their own fabric panels. Two “rehearsals” were hosted, one at Penistone Market and the other at Christchurch social cafe in Stocksbridge, to ‘test’ the outputs and continue co-producing future narratives for local climate action.
The students were invited to present their project to Stocksbridge Town Council and what a great job they did! The councillors were impressed with the way they had persisted with generating dialogue in the local area and produced their results in such an imaginative way. We are now planning for how their installation – a model linking the history of Stocksbridge Steel making and Penistone as an important rural community with the work of UDCE’s Community Workshop – will be used to continue the climate dialogue. The council were supportive of the project and have agreed to act on the following as soon as possible:
"Dr Jayne Carrick Postdoctoral Research Associate at South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre supported the students during their project and attended the presentation. She said: ”I am writing to let you know how well the students (Hannah, Ayako and Charlie) did last night in presenting their Live Project to Stocksbridge Town Council, where they also handed over the artwork they had produced to the community. They are a credit to the School of Architect and Landscape. The presentation was very well received by the councillors who had a lot of questions and they volunteered to write a letter to SYMCA to say they had seen the presentation, heard about the work of Climate ReAssemblies, and enquire how Stocksbridge could engage in the implementation of the recommendations - this is impact!”
Thanks to students: Ayako Seki, Charlie Mahoney, Charlie Young, Georgia Marsh, Hannah Spiers, Hattie Ward, Jiatao Li, Lizzie Jackson, Milena Chyla, Ryan Lim, Tia Kidd
"Dr Jayne Carrick Postdoctoral Research Associate at South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre supported the students during their project and attended the presentation. She said: ”I am writing to let you know how well the students (Hannah, Ayako and Charlie) did last night in presenting their Live Project to Stocksbridge Town Council, where they also handed over the artwork they had produced to the community. They are a credit to the School of Architect and Landscape. The presentation was very well received by the councillors who had a lot of questions and they volunteered to write a letter to SYMCA to say they had seen the presentation, heard about the work of Climate ReAssemblies, and enquire how Stocksbridge could engage in the implementation of the recommendations - this is impact!”
Thanks to students: Ayako Seki, Charlie Mahoney, Charlie Young, Georgia Marsh, Hannah Spiers, Hattie Ward, Jiatao Li, Lizzie Jackson, Milena Chyla, Ryan Lim, Tia Kidd
A report by Dr Jayne Carrick, Postdoctoral Research
Associate, South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre on
our visit to two local homes in July.
House 1
A detached house, which had solar panels (12, equating to 4.5kW), 2 small domestic wind turbines (1.5kW each) in the back garden, 2 x 3.5kW batteries, and a 16kW Mitsubishi heat pump.
The homeowners undertook extensive retrofitting to improve the energy efficiency of the house when they bought it.
The homeowners undertook extensive retrofitting to improve the energy efficiency of the house when they bought it.
A detached house, which had solar panels (12, equating to 4.5kW), 2 small domestic wind turbines (1.5kW each) in the back garden, 2 x 3.5kW batteries, and a 16kW Mitsubishi heat pump.
The homeowners undertook extensive retrofitting to improve the energy efficiency of the house when they bought it.
The homeowners undertook extensive retrofitting to improve the energy efficiency of the house when they bought it.
| The batteries cost about £5,500 5 years ago, but they understand they now cost about £900 each. The batteries are located in the garage next to the inverter for the solar. The heat pump and solar cost around £21,000, which was also completed when they were moving in, to reduce disruption - they replaced an old oil heating system and old radiators. The work took around 5 months to complete. He recommended getting a battery with solar panels, because otherwise they would be |  |
‘throwing away’ (exporting) 70% of the power to the grid. However, he reflects that the batteries are often full and they often export electricity. They recommend Octopus Energy as they give good deals on the export (PPA). Several of the group recommend NorCroft Energy (Phil Moseley) - for electrical work and solar installation (https://norcroftenergy.co.uk/)
The heat pump was installed in time to receive the RHI payments. The homeowner mentions AIRA - a Swedish company who complete the design
Other group members shared their experiences of looking into and buying heat pumps and one member said he has installed an oversized heat pump to compensate for the lack of insulation (and possibility to install insulation) in his old house
The homeowner did not need planning permission for the 2 wind turbines as they were below the height limit, however, states that he would have needed planning permission for them if they were connected to a heat pump (when they installed them). Some members query this rule and agree to check it.
Asked if they would do anything differently, the homeowner says they would get more solar panels. They were restricted due to lack of space on the roof; however, they are thinking of putting more solar panels on their flat roof, on a framework to position the panels.
The homeowners used Turbine Engineering from Doncaster to install their heat pump, which is on a single phase connection, placed on the garage roof.
One member of the group says they are increasing their solar by 45%, to 14 panels, and have been quoted £2,500 for 1.7kW including the inverter by All Seasons at Halfway, who have been bought out by AIRA.
The homeowner states that their electricity bills are £288/month.
House 2
Semi detached post war house on an estate in Penistone. The house has external wall insulation with red render and a new porch in yellow and a new blue front door.
The home owners explain that they moved into the house in 2014. They understood that the previous owners had lived there since the 1980s and had done little work on the house, so it was quite dated. However, there had been some previous remodelling of the down stairs.
The homeowners did some work before they moved in, including rewiring, replastering, new floor in the kitchen and hallway (tiled) with electric underfloor heating. They commented that they were lucky with the electrician they used as he managed the work, including the plastering, alongside his own.
After they moved in, the homeowners started to identify other big jobs that needed to be done, including the windows and doors as they were getting drafts, mould and damp, the outhouse roof (leaking), and repairs to the house roof. They also wanted to make the house more energy efficient and to align it with the way they wanted to live in it. They expressed a desire to be ‘more green’ but emphasised this was not as part of a vanity project, but to demonstrate how building could be done in accordance with environmental principles.
The homeowners had added solar panels to the roof in 2015 in time to receive FiT payments.
The homeowners used their experience of living in the house to inform the next phase of the work, e.g. the noise, temperature, air quality, light. They employed an architect in 2018 to design the ‘big’ retrofit work, which included drawing up and modelling a range of ideas. Ideas that didn’t make it included a double height greenhouse on the back of the house, which would draw air through the house and into which you could step onto a balcony from the bedroom windows.
The homeowner commented that the architect is the one area of a retrofit project (of this scale) where he would not recommend people skimp on - the architect on this project cost ‘less than £10,000’.
The design work included having thermal imaging surveys of the house in all weathers to inform computer modelling of different scenarios of energy efficiency measures (e.g. glazing, insulation, porch) to identify the most cost-effective solution (considering the energy savings in each scenario).
The airflow and air quality were major concerns due to the damp and mould problems they experienced in the house and because they were making the house air tight. The greenhouse was dropped from the plans because, according to the models, it wouldn’t draw enough air from the house.
The heat pump was installed in time to receive the RHI payments. The homeowner mentions AIRA - a Swedish company who complete the design
Other group members shared their experiences of looking into and buying heat pumps and one member said he has installed an oversized heat pump to compensate for the lack of insulation (and possibility to install insulation) in his old house
The homeowner did not need planning permission for the 2 wind turbines as they were below the height limit, however, states that he would have needed planning permission for them if they were connected to a heat pump (when they installed them). Some members query this rule and agree to check it.
Asked if they would do anything differently, the homeowner says they would get more solar panels. They were restricted due to lack of space on the roof; however, they are thinking of putting more solar panels on their flat roof, on a framework to position the panels.
The homeowners used Turbine Engineering from Doncaster to install their heat pump, which is on a single phase connection, placed on the garage roof.
One member of the group says they are increasing their solar by 45%, to 14 panels, and have been quoted £2,500 for 1.7kW including the inverter by All Seasons at Halfway, who have been bought out by AIRA.
The homeowner states that their electricity bills are £288/month.
House 2
Semi detached post war house on an estate in Penistone. The house has external wall insulation with red render and a new porch in yellow and a new blue front door.
The home owners explain that they moved into the house in 2014. They understood that the previous owners had lived there since the 1980s and had done little work on the house, so it was quite dated. However, there had been some previous remodelling of the down stairs.
The homeowners did some work before they moved in, including rewiring, replastering, new floor in the kitchen and hallway (tiled) with electric underfloor heating. They commented that they were lucky with the electrician they used as he managed the work, including the plastering, alongside his own.
After they moved in, the homeowners started to identify other big jobs that needed to be done, including the windows and doors as they were getting drafts, mould and damp, the outhouse roof (leaking), and repairs to the house roof. They also wanted to make the house more energy efficient and to align it with the way they wanted to live in it. They expressed a desire to be ‘more green’ but emphasised this was not as part of a vanity project, but to demonstrate how building could be done in accordance with environmental principles.
The homeowners had added solar panels to the roof in 2015 in time to receive FiT payments.
The homeowners used their experience of living in the house to inform the next phase of the work, e.g. the noise, temperature, air quality, light. They employed an architect in 2018 to design the ‘big’ retrofit work, which included drawing up and modelling a range of ideas. Ideas that didn’t make it included a double height greenhouse on the back of the house, which would draw air through the house and into which you could step onto a balcony from the bedroom windows.
The homeowner commented that the architect is the one area of a retrofit project (of this scale) where he would not recommend people skimp on - the architect on this project cost ‘less than £10,000’.
The design work included having thermal imaging surveys of the house in all weathers to inform computer modelling of different scenarios of energy efficiency measures (e.g. glazing, insulation, porch) to identify the most cost-effective solution (considering the energy savings in each scenario).
The airflow and air quality were major concerns due to the damp and mould problems they experienced in the house and because they were making the house air tight. The greenhouse was dropped from the plans because, according to the models, it wouldn’t draw enough air from the house.
| To get ventilation they installed a MVHR (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery) system which sucks air out of the house, and into the house from outside, ‘exchanging’ the heat from the warm air from inside to the cold air from outside as they pass. The system works via vents in the ceilings (there are 2 in the kitchen) which is piped up to a unit inside a cupboard in the bathroom. |  |
The homeowners confirmed that they needed planning permission for the external work and that the biggest obstacle in planning was the design of the porch, particularly the roof.
They moved out of the house to get the work done in 2020. This included: the porch, windows, doors, external wall insulation, replacement floors upstairs, installation of ecowool insulation between the floors, relocation of drainage pipes to run inside the external wall insulation, the MVHR unit and associated infrastructure (including the piping from the vents through the upstairs rooms), new outhouse roof, reconfiguration of two of the bedrooms, repairs to house roof, and loft insulation.
The house still has a gas combi boiler.
They moved out of the house to get the work done in 2020. This included: the porch, windows, doors, external wall insulation, replacement floors upstairs, installation of ecowool insulation between the floors, relocation of drainage pipes to run inside the external wall insulation, the MVHR unit and associated infrastructure (including the piping from the vents through the upstairs rooms), new outhouse roof, reconfiguration of two of the bedrooms, repairs to house roof, and loft insulation.
The house still has a gas combi boiler.
| The new windows are triple glazed argon filled K-glass; the homeowners commented that the modelling showed that triple glazing saved significantly more energy than double glazing and was worth the extra money. The frames are wooden, with metal sills to keep water out of the wood fibre insulation. The windows were supplied by the Green Building Store (https://www.weare21degrees.co.uk/), but installed |  |
by their builder, which did cause some issues. The homeowners said they would have preferred that the windows opened outwards, but that the supplier advised them that inwards opening is better for insulation. The homeowners commented that the porch and new front door had significantly improved the light in the hallway and reduced drafts.
| The external wall insulation is 120mm wood fibre with a lime render which keeps the wood fibre healthy, helping it to breathe. The homeowners commented that the wood fibre insulation is ‘good for cold and hot weather’ but is ‘as horrible to work with as rockwool’ and more expensive. The wall insulation was done by Mike Wye from Devon (https://www.mikewye.co.uk/) who the homeowners recommended. |  |
The homeowners said the MVHR unit has worked well and is like having a dehumidifier with fresh air, keeping the rooms consistently warm but creating no condensation. They did have problems with the noise, but that was associated with the installation and this is sorted now. The MVHR was also supplied by the Green Building Store (https://www.weare21degrees.co.uk/), but was fitted by the builders - their list was too long.
The flat roof on the outhouse was completely replaced. The architect recommended bitumen, but they couldn't find anyone to fit this, however, they weren’t entirely sure why he had recommended it.
The flat roof on the outhouse was completely replaced. The architect recommended bitumen, but they couldn't find anyone to fit this, however, they weren’t entirely sure why he had recommended it.
| The homeowners added a Cornish Masonry Stove in the living room and relaid the floor (possibly before the ‘big retrofit’ of 2020). The stove is surrounded by ‘cornish porcelain ceramic’ and weighs 2-3 tons (https://www.cornishmasonrystoves.com/). It is lit once in the morning, burning ‘very hot’ and burning its own gases, the chimney then goes through the surrounding masonry, which stores the heat for the rest of the day. The stove is certified for use in a clean air zone. The living room floor is reclaimed Parquet flooring from Parquet-Parquet (https://parquet-parquet.co.uk/). |  |
The loft was boarded out to give extra storage and the inside of the roof insulted with the wool fibre (50mm between the rafters and 2 x 120mm board over the rafters) ‘to bring the loft within the thermal envelope of the rest of the house’. However, the homeowners reported that there is still air flow around the eaves and that there is a noticeable difference in temperature in the loft (compared to the rest of the house.
The homeowners reflected that the builders they had chosen for the 2020 retrofit were not very good ‘for this type of build’, partly because they weren’t on board with the ethos of the build, and that there is a skills gap.
Upper Don Community Energy arrange one home visit per year where we try to visit at least 2 homes in the local area. If you would like to join us next time or have an idea for somewhere to visit, please let us know.
The homeowners reflected that the builders they had chosen for the 2020 retrofit were not very good ‘for this type of build’, partly because they weren’t on board with the ethos of the build, and that there is a skills gap.
Upper Don Community Energy arrange one home visit per year where we try to visit at least 2 homes in the local area. If you would like to join us next time or have an idea for somewhere to visit, please let us know.
By Caroline Greenwood
| I moved to my house March 2022. It’s brick, semi-detached and built around 1960. The tiled roof has an old bitumen felt lining on top of the rafters. It felt cold and a bit mucky with the accumulation of airborne particles infiltrating over the decades. There is rock wool beneath the floor to the attic but none in the roof space. Besides improving the efficiency of my energy use, I was keen to use the attic for storage. |  |
I needed a clean space with better protection from the extremes of temperature. Another factor was that I have asthma so take care to minimize hazards. In practice this means minimizing exposure to small particles and VOC’s (volatile organic compounds). As polystyrene sheets would require cutting down to narrow lengths in order to fit through the hatch door, a dear, old friend suggested installing two layers of SuperQuilt Home - YBS Insulation. I used a company in Dronfield as my supplier Multifoil Insulation UK • Ecohome Insulation
We studied various videos on YouTube and then led the way in applying the insulation. Once done, it was an immediate relief and, the space became functional.
Two years on, I am very pleased with the result. It’s clean and dust free. I store lots of things there and am content to shuttle things up and down. That said, there is one issue that needs monitoring and ideally redressing. The attic can get slightly damp in the winter and a thin layer of pale green mould appeared in a couple of places. I can wipe it off but I treat it as a warning sign of something I need to keep abreast of.
Last September, while attending the Upper Don Community Energy public talk on Condensation, Damp and Mould, I learned that the moisture that wafts out of an open bathroom door after a shower quickly dissipates to the rest of the house. As my loft hatch is just outside the bathroom door, I now wonder if this has been the primary source of the humidity. From now on, I’ll keep the door closed and windows open until the humidity has gone. I’ll also use the second layer of the hatch insulation that I had not been using on a regular basis. If I don’t manage to resolve this, I will consider a small dehumidifier.
Costs-wise, materials came to around £1,000. I had no labour costs because my friend spearheaded the installation, and I helped.
We studied various videos on YouTube and then led the way in applying the insulation. Once done, it was an immediate relief and, the space became functional.
Two years on, I am very pleased with the result. It’s clean and dust free. I store lots of things there and am content to shuttle things up and down. That said, there is one issue that needs monitoring and ideally redressing. The attic can get slightly damp in the winter and a thin layer of pale green mould appeared in a couple of places. I can wipe it off but I treat it as a warning sign of something I need to keep abreast of.
Last September, while attending the Upper Don Community Energy public talk on Condensation, Damp and Mould, I learned that the moisture that wafts out of an open bathroom door after a shower quickly dissipates to the rest of the house. As my loft hatch is just outside the bathroom door, I now wonder if this has been the primary source of the humidity. From now on, I’ll keep the door closed and windows open until the humidity has gone. I’ll also use the second layer of the hatch insulation that I had not been using on a regular basis. If I don’t manage to resolve this, I will consider a small dehumidifier.
Costs-wise, materials came to around £1,000. I had no labour costs because my friend spearheaded the installation, and I helped.
WITH DEZNA PRESENTS A CHANCE TO WIN
A FREE HOME ENERGY ASSESSMENT
'FABRIC VS TECHNOLOGY' SURVEY
Jonathon Hind from South Yorkshire Ecofit has asked us to let the community and any interested individuals know that they have been recently awarded a research project by DEZNA - 'Fabric vs Technology'.
As part of the project, SY Ecofit needs to carry out a survey for householders in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire that will help to identify house and householder archetypes suitable for "light retrofit" with a heat pump or "deep retrofit" with a heat pump.
By participating in this survey, householders will have a chance to win a free home energy assessment by a qualified, independent Retrofit Assessor. They’ll create a Whole House Retrofit Plan (WHP) for the participant`s home—worth £850 on the market—at no cost to them! The WHP includes a thorough assessment of their home’s energy and carbon efficiency, plus a step-by-step guide for improvements. Starting with “quick wins,” it details potential savings and estimated costs for each upgrade.
The link to the survey and more info about the project is here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSexFv8du4HZ_BgSASabzOfPxBvlvfzNdxwC1ccXbbDNB-92g/viewform
Here is a poster with a QR code to the survey.
As part of the project, SY Ecofit needs to carry out a survey for householders in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire that will help to identify house and householder archetypes suitable for "light retrofit" with a heat pump or "deep retrofit" with a heat pump.
By participating in this survey, householders will have a chance to win a free home energy assessment by a qualified, independent Retrofit Assessor. They’ll create a Whole House Retrofit Plan (WHP) for the participant`s home—worth £850 on the market—at no cost to them! The WHP includes a thorough assessment of their home’s energy and carbon efficiency, plus a step-by-step guide for improvements. Starting with “quick wins,” it details potential savings and estimated costs for each upgrade.
The link to the survey and more info about the project is here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSexFv8du4HZ_BgSASabzOfPxBvlvfzNdxwC1ccXbbDNB-92g/viewform
Here is a poster with a QR code to the survey.
By Barry Tylee
As the owner of an old, stone house I needed to know which materials are the best to use for retrofitting, so I attended this course on how to work on houses built with heritage materials.
Houses made out of traditional materials such as brick, wood and stone and then covered in render (on the outside) or plaster (on the inside) must be able to breathe to evaporate the moisture which we produce during normal occupation. When houses were built previously, they used natural materials. Often these have fallen out of fashion; and that’s a pity as they certainly may have a role in retrofitting buildings to improve insulation and reduce heating costs. A typical family produces a few pints of water (as moisture in air) a day just being in a house; and then there’s washing and drying clothes and baths and showers – all producing more moisture. Also, houses often have problems with water ingress due to leaking gutters and roofs or rising or penetrating damp. There’s no way that these can be sealed in and will disappear – the only solution if the fabric of the house is damp, is heating and ventilating it – and this might take years to dry the structure once the problem is fixed. So double glazed windows must have a trickle flow of fresh air and care must be taken not to block air bricks. Also, the outside surface should be at least 150 mm below the internal surface.
Building Surveyors have seen increasing problems due to trying to seal basements (tanking) and reconfiguring areas for multiple occupations (more people in smaller areas means more moisture). Often sealing a wall, say with some wonder plastic solution, just leads the moisture to move upwards maybe to wooden joists which may then rot, bringing structural problems. The more that a building becomes air-tight, the more that mechanical air extraction is required, otherwise moisture won’t be extracted.
Natural materials such as sheep’s wool or hessian are ideal for loft or underfloor insulation as they will naturally breathe. The sheep wool must be specially heat treated – this chemically changes each fibre making it unattractive to moths – a big problem with untreated fibre! Look for a company where the wool is heat treated eg Ionic Protect | Benefits of Sheepwool Insulation Once in your house, moths are incredibly difficult to eradicate.
When it comes to pointing stonework or brickworks or sealing joints in old houses, then lime mortar is recommended, once set this enables moisture to evaporate out of the wall. However, cement won’t breathe like this and if the fabric is softer than the cement, it will be damaged when the mortar pulls/falls away with age.
Houses made out of traditional materials such as brick, wood and stone and then covered in render (on the outside) or plaster (on the inside) must be able to breathe to evaporate the moisture which we produce during normal occupation. When houses were built previously, they used natural materials. Often these have fallen out of fashion; and that’s a pity as they certainly may have a role in retrofitting buildings to improve insulation and reduce heating costs. A typical family produces a few pints of water (as moisture in air) a day just being in a house; and then there’s washing and drying clothes and baths and showers – all producing more moisture. Also, houses often have problems with water ingress due to leaking gutters and roofs or rising or penetrating damp. There’s no way that these can be sealed in and will disappear – the only solution if the fabric of the house is damp, is heating and ventilating it – and this might take years to dry the structure once the problem is fixed. So double glazed windows must have a trickle flow of fresh air and care must be taken not to block air bricks. Also, the outside surface should be at least 150 mm below the internal surface.
Building Surveyors have seen increasing problems due to trying to seal basements (tanking) and reconfiguring areas for multiple occupations (more people in smaller areas means more moisture). Often sealing a wall, say with some wonder plastic solution, just leads the moisture to move upwards maybe to wooden joists which may then rot, bringing structural problems. The more that a building becomes air-tight, the more that mechanical air extraction is required, otherwise moisture won’t be extracted.
Natural materials such as sheep’s wool or hessian are ideal for loft or underfloor insulation as they will naturally breathe. The sheep wool must be specially heat treated – this chemically changes each fibre making it unattractive to moths – a big problem with untreated fibre! Look for a company where the wool is heat treated eg Ionic Protect | Benefits of Sheepwool Insulation Once in your house, moths are incredibly difficult to eradicate.
When it comes to pointing stonework or brickworks or sealing joints in old houses, then lime mortar is recommended, once set this enables moisture to evaporate out of the wall. However, cement won’t breathe like this and if the fabric is softer than the cement, it will be damaged when the mortar pulls/falls away with age.
This is a great time of year to book a Thermal Imaging Survey. This will identify:
“We both found the thermal imaging survey informative and easy to understand.
Tim and Andrew suggested ways in which we could insulate the parts of our house that need improving, some of which are easy and affordable. Tim sent us information regarding under floor insulation which we are looking into, but there is no pressure put on you to buy particular products. We would definitely recommend having thermal imaging undertaken.”
- Heat loss from draughty doors and windows
- Poor or blown double glazing
- Poor wall, loft & floor insulation
- Secondary glazing film. Window and door seals
- Draught excluding
- Radiator foil insulation
- Thick curtains
- Thermostatic values (properly heating one or two rooms)
- Loft insulation
- Underfloor insulation
“We both found the thermal imaging survey informative and easy to understand.
Tim and Andrew suggested ways in which we could insulate the parts of our house that need improving, some of which are easy and affordable. Tim sent us information regarding under floor insulation which we are looking into, but there is no pressure put on you to buy particular products. We would definitely recommend having thermal imaging undertaken.”
| An example of the images produced showing heat loss through this window and across the top of the frame.  | What does it cost? £250 is the typical market price, but we are a not -for - profit organisation run by volunteers so we only charge to cover costs
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By Tim Hess
Have you wondered where heat escapes from in your home? Climate change and rising energy bills make it more important to reduce usage of gas or other fuels. Have you considered having a thermal imaging survey? Your first impression would be that a thermal imaging survey will help to find areas of heat loss and tell you where to put your effort to add insulation and how to make you’re your home more comfortable. You are right up to a point. Thermal imaging surveys are part of the process of finding out how to save energy but it is only one step in the process of finding out what you can do to improve your home and make it more comfortable.
No home is the same. They all have different levels of insulation, in windows, doors, walls and floors and that’s even if you live in a street of similar houses. Homes come in all types, bungalows, stone cottages, semi detached, terrace, modern construction etc.. A thermal imaging survey tells you the temperature of the wall and the heat being emitted from it. For those who remember their physics, it provides a reading of the heat emitted as infra red.
No home is the same. They all have different levels of insulation, in windows, doors, walls and floors and that’s even if you live in a street of similar houses. Homes come in all types, bungalows, stone cottages, semi detached, terrace, modern construction etc.. A thermal imaging survey tells you the temperature of the wall and the heat being emitted from it. For those who remember their physics, it provides a reading of the heat emitted as infra red.
| Our cameras are very accurate we can work out the temperature of one section of wall to another with an accuracy of 0.1’ C. But what does that tell you. Here in this window has a temperature of between 6.2 and 5.9’C. Is that good? Well if the temperature outside at the time is minus 10’C then perhaps not. If the outside temperature is 5’C then perhaps it is. It depends on the weather conditions, the outside temperature wind conditions and the position of the building in terms of wind and sun. |  |
The truth is that a thermal imaging survey can’t tell you how much heat is being lost from your building. To work out how much heat is being lost using a model is a complex calculation. The simplest way of working out how much heat is lost from your house is to look at your energy bills. The next best way to do it is to carry out a SAP heat loss calculation (Standard Assessment Procedure) by a Retrofit Assessor.
The chart above shows how your house might compare relative to other houses in UKs housing stock. Look at your heating bill, work out your floor area and see how your house compares.
A thermal imaging survey, won’t tell you how much heat your loosing, however it will tell you which parts of your house is losing more heat than others. At Upper Don Community Energy we have been delivering high quality thermal imaging surveys for over 2 years and our volunteers deliver reports for as little as £5 (usual cost in the market is £100 to £200). Additionally, our volunteers are trained in retrofitting and will provide information to help you decide how to solve the problems we find in your home. Typical recommendations have been to improve pipe lagging under floors, replace windows, address areas where wall insulation is missing.
A thermal imaging survey is a simple way to look at where heat being lost from your home. The results from our thermal imaging surveys describe how to interpret the images, giving an understanding what this means in terms of where heat is being lost and how you can improve your building's insulation.
A thermal imaging survey, won’t tell you how much heat your loosing, however it will tell you which parts of your house is losing more heat than others. At Upper Don Community Energy we have been delivering high quality thermal imaging surveys for over 2 years and our volunteers deliver reports for as little as £5 (usual cost in the market is £100 to £200). Additionally, our volunteers are trained in retrofitting and will provide information to help you decide how to solve the problems we find in your home. Typical recommendations have been to improve pipe lagging under floors, replace windows, address areas where wall insulation is missing.
A thermal imaging survey is a simple way to look at where heat being lost from your home. The results from our thermal imaging surveys describe how to interpret the images, giving an understanding what this means in terms of where heat is being lost and how you can improve your building's insulation.
