At the last Falmouth Energy Partnership meeting there were discussions around the acquisition of one or more thermal camera(s) and reopening of the Green open homes event from 2015.
Chris Gaskell has also been supporting this (considerably). It is recommended that these notes are considered alongside the sections titled Thermal Imaging project, Green Homes Project and Project Worker from the notes of the Falmouth Energy Partnership (FEP) meeting on 21st February (available online here). There was also an earlier meeting discussing Thermal Imaging and related DIY interventions that I summarise in the final section of this post.
By way of introduction – Chris and I recently joined as members of FEP. Chris has around a decade of experience with sustainability related project roles (offshore renewables, sustainable tourism, shipping decarbonisation, energy regulation, green finance), including working on a domestic retrofit accelerator project in Somerset last year. I work at the university as an Applied Data Science lecturer with general and broad interests in sustainability, and I am also in the process of planning my own green retrofit and want to share the experience to make it simpler and more affordable for others. We’re both interested in helping to create resources to accelerate Cornwall’s green retrofitting progress.
Green open homes
– The properties that took part in the 2015 event in Truro and Falmouth are documented here.
– There was some discussion in the lead up to and during the last Falmouth Energy Partnership meeting about repeating the initiative, which could include a combination of in-person and virtual tours (e.g., to post on youtube). The possibility of putting £5k of FEP funds towards a short-term part-time position to support this was also discussed.
– The resources on the Cambridge Carbon Footprint (CCF) website were signposted as a blueprint for what we could look to recreate locally:
(i) a database of local case studies: https://cambridgecarbonfootprint.org/open-eco-homes-case-studies/;
(ii) video tours: https://cambridgecarbonfootprint.org/what-we-do/open-eco-homes/tours-on-demand/; and
(iii) a community of local people happy to share advice and mutual support.
– There is a potentially relevant upcoming event at the University: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/retrofit-in-the-real-world-tickets-551498987317.
Thermal camera training
– A training session coordinated by Cambridge Carbon Footprint (CCF) was attended in February by Chris Gaskell. These training sessions are run monthly over winter with the next one expected in November 2023.
– The slides are available here, and more resources are available here.
– CCF have a few different camera models with a wide price range. The cheaper ones do a decent job. They have 5 Flir C2’s, which cost around £500 each, and the new model C3 is similar in price. There are also cheaper Flir camera phone extensions, which Octopus have been lending out to customers. These are not covered in the CCF training but there are training resources provided by Suffolk CC here. If one or more cameras are to be bought then it will be simplest to pick one of the models for which a simple and comprehensive training guide is available.
– The cameras are useful for detecting problems, but need the right conditions and interpretation, which the training can help with.
– The ideal conditions are overcast, dry with light wind. Also, they are best used during the day in order to compare and contrast visible images with infrared.
– Need to allow an hour or more to survey each property. If it is not cold enough outside, then the property can be heated beforehand to create the temperature difference. A greener approach will be to keep an eye on the weather forecast for clear and cold conditions over winter – around sunrise on cold winter/spring mornings is likely to be an ideal time.
– They can also be effectively used in a heatwave, e.g., to consider shading/ cooling.
– CCF loan out each camera twice a week (Mon pm – Fri am, Fri pm, Mon am) between October and April. They are kept in different parts of the region for ease of collection and return. Loanees do their own survey once training has been received. This seems like a sensible model to follow.
– The training is also important for helping with interpretation, in particular:
– The temperature scale is an important feature. Auto adjust will not be useful if there’s an extreme in the picture, but can be set manually to the range of interest.
– It is important to understand the limitations and potential misinterpretations of the cameras, e.g., relating to the emissivity of the surface. Brick, wood, paint typically give readings close to the real surface temperature, but bare metal, concrete will give incorrect temperature readings. This can be resolved by sticking electrical tape on the surface and spot reading them with the camera. Glass and shiny metal also give false readings due to reflection, for which the same electrical tape solution can be used.
Other community groups
– There are plenty of active community groups with an energy and climate focus around Cornwall. It may be worth talking to Chacewater Energy Group, Community Energy Plus, Transition Ladock and Grampound Road, Community Power Cornwall, etc, to discuss collaboration on a Green Open Homes and Thermal Camera project. Gunnislake Community Matters have recently bought a thermal imaging camera using a Cornwall Council grant.
– Flushing / Mylor Community Energy is just getting going and Chris is in contact with them.
– Lagas has mapping of some groups and their activities (although many are missing, including FEP).
Other training opportunities
There are a number of subsidised training opportunities for retrofitting available at the moment (currently until the end of this month), many of which Chris is completing and which may be of interest to others and valuable for building up local skills (see, in particular, the upcoming opportunities in bold, which are low cost technical courses with no official entry requirements):
The Installation Assurance Authority (Various including free Understanding Domestic Retrofit, which next runs on 24th March and is free: https://www.theiaa.co.uk/level-2-award-in-understanding-domestic-retrofit/),
Elmhurst Energy (Domestic Energy Assessor + Retrofit Assessor, Retrofit Assessor for qualified DEAs)
Heat Geek (Ultimate Heat Pump Training)
Optimum (various courses, most of which require pre-qualifications, except for the course on Heat Loss calculations, which next runs from 27-29 March at a cost of £80 and includes approximately 2 days of homework to specify a heat pump for your own house plus three others: https://www.stromacert.com/events/courseid:74392f65-4eb7-ed11-813c-00155d32021a)
Funding
– The Shared Prosperity Fund in Cornwall, known as ‘Good Growth Fund’, is offering £132m for local projects over 3 years. Their latest call asks specifically for applications to do with energy efficiency and relating to community energy networks:
– The minimum award on this call is £200k, so it will be necessary to think big or team up with other networks. Note that the call states that “Projects that want to implement community energy networks will also be supported as they seek to bring together a defined group of residents or a community to deliver low carbon solutions to optimise locally produced renewable energy at lower costs”. Alternatively, it may be worth getting in touch to seek advice on other appropriate and smaller grant funds.
– There are workshops running this month for applicant guidance (the final one is this Weds 22nd March 11:30-13:00).
Summary of Thermal Imaging meeting, 3rd Feb in Princess Pavillion
This was a meeting attended by members of Falmouth town council, the Rotary Club and FEP. It included a presentation by Dave Dawson of the Cosy Thame project, which involved thermal imaging of the local area by drone to promote a house thermal imaging survey that residents could subsequently request. This was accompanied by support with simple DIY interventions such as curtains and draught excluders, which were also offered at a Christmas Food Bank.
– It was noted that cameras may be available to borrow or rent from Cornwall Housing, the universities or Veryan React group.
– Supporter organisations who could potentially provide DIY resources or support were listed: KLOTH, Repair Cafe, Community Power Cornwall, FXU. As were those who could potentially also support around energy poverty issues: Sally Army, Citizens Advice Bureau and the Dracaena centre.
– Small communities such as housing estates in Constantine, Mabe and Mawnan Smith were identified as possible first project sites.
I believe that the drone thermal imaging was predominantly for promotional purposes and may not need repeating (it may be sufficient to refer to the article https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-63575117). There does seem to be a value in replicating the house thermal imaging surveys and the DIY interventions. This will require volunteers and/or occupants to be trained in capturing and interpreting thermal camera images, self help resources and/or volunteers/organisations that can support the DIY interventions, and promotion to local communities.
Posted with thanks and on behalf of Tim Hughes and Chris Gaskell