We're pleased to be progressing with the 'soft' launch of our thermal camera, kindly funded by Leek Building Society. We're also delighted to hear that SMDC is planning something similar, although we have no details of their plans at this stage.
Having consulted with other providers of thermal imaging services (many thanks to Cambridge Carbon Footprint and Cumbria Action for Sustainability, who have both provided invaluable advice), we think our best model is to lend the camera to individuals to do their own informal home surveys, along with guidelines provided by us and pointers to free training courses. We stress of course that this will NOT be a professional service, just a tool to let homeowners get a rough idea of what might be necessary and we strongly recommend that users seek professional advice before embarking on disruptive or expensive improvements.
The camera is designed to be used in conjunction with a smartphone (connected via bluetooth) and can be easily clipped on to the phone or used separately for tight spaces, although both components need to be close enough for the connection to work. The advantage of this is that all photos are saved on the user's phone and have no ownership issues, although we welcome users sending us photos that illustrate a particular point if they choose to do so. The camera works with both i-phones and androids, although recent models may work better than old ones. We've experienced some problems with androids but so far they have mostly proved surmountable.
Our first official outing with the camera was at Biddulph's Energy Saving Day in January, where we displayed images we'd taken to show what they can reveal, discussing how to interpret them and drawing attention to potential pitfalls in interpretation. We also took it to our 27 January market stall in Leek and will continue to publicise it thereafter in our newsletters, website and Facebook pages.
