Energy and Climate Change CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by Jonathan Over

1. A Starting Point

By the virtue of a moderate climate many buildings in the UK have poor thermal envelopes. In addressing this problem the positive opportunities are numerous & include the ability to use less fuel resource, reduce the UK’s balance of payments, provide many new work opportunities & make these buildings better to live or work within, and more significantly lower our carbon footprint, then decide the most economic & effective method of achieving an efficient thermal envelope.

The alternate is to leave these buildings untouched and pay the fuel, carbon and maintenance costs, or to remove and redevelop or refurbish so the property has excellent thermal capacity.

2. Planning and Lobbyists

First planning needs to fully understand the relevance of a thermally efficient or inefficient property, the various lobbying groups that suggest redevelopment maybe detrimental, and the need to balance carefully the environmental issues and the lowering of our Carbon Footprint versus property that requires refurbishment or demolition because of its inherent thermal weakness and the true long term costs involved.

We also have other influential lobbyists from trade, education, environment and manufacturers who all have a solution that may require one or more of their products and services.

3. View

In dealing with many thermal requirements an open mind needs to be kept so an effective method of addressing these problems can really be put to work.

4. To the Job in Hand

So having a good visual property inspection is often an excellent starting point and speaking informally with the client another. This to be followed by a scientifically based thermal envelope assessment via Infra-red thermal imaging (ICT) and when linked to the use of blower door is a well tried and tested method oft used in North America.

(For those who desire the basic theory a blower door is fitted into the property where it pressurises or depressurises the thermal envelope, there needs to be a temperature differential interior to exterior +/− 7degrees, when pressurised the building will leak air and when scanned the ICT thermal array will register the temperature differential which then shows on the photograph where the air leakage is taking place.)

These areas of leakage can then be easily dealt with. Other such thermal problems as non-cavity walls, bridging, lack or poor insulation, damp, and heat leakage from foundations, can all be observed whilst using ICT in trained hands and there are fixes for many of these problems.

5. Answering the Terms of Reference

Would suggest that many of the Green Deal’s criteria would seem to be very costly, over controlled with little scientific base.

(a)Would suggest giving a partial council tax rebate or single grant for anyone or entity that has their property thermally surveyed and the problems addressed.

(b)Part of the ICT surveyor’s remit, to check the use of fuels, ie: Gas, Oil and Electricity before and after remedial work.

(c)The surveyor to submit a National Energy Foundation Simple Carbon Calculator Form showing the savings based on the above information.

(d)Using scientific methods such as ICT and its thermal photographs to a establish any buildings thermal envelope, as a cross check it could be thermally and physically re-assessed after work has been completed to show the effectiveness of any remedial work these thermal photographs could be included in any reporting.

(e)Scientifically factual and establishing the carbon footprint gain using (c) above.

(f)It all depends on what is actually being offered and achieved as most customers have a simple wish to have a property that uses less fuel and is warm and comfortable, then they will be satisfied.

(g)Most of this is fairly easy if you are computer literate but there are some who do not have these skills, so would suggest informing via the Council tax bill, Libraries, Citizens Advice Bureau, Housing & Aged based charities, Post Office and HMRC Pension information.

6. Some Basic Criteria

To be reasonably accurate when inspecting property, may require knowledge of the temperature and moisture conditions (see Thermal Photograph with temperature gauge), and HVAC may need to be switched off for a short period of time to eliminate any false readings. But most well trained ICT professionals understand this. I suggest that it may be interesting to ask the Green Deal people if they actually use this important criteria when establishing their results.

7. Summing up

As many of you may by now realise, my belief is that Infrared Camera Technology operated by a formally trained surveyor can help provide the best scientifically proven view of any thermal envelope…… and is the best method of achieving the criteria for success of any Green Deal.

The above can effectively help to lower our dependency on Fossil Fuels, lower our carbon footprint help reduce our balance of payments deficit whilst providing building work and updating the thermal efficiency of the UK’s housing and property stock.

John F Kennedy quote: “Change is the law of life, and without change those who live in the past or present are certain to miss the future”.

Having spoken with one Green Deal provider, their main interest was in charging me some £1,500+ for the training as a Green Deal Assessor, when ICT was mentioned did not seem to comprehend its use, or its merits………………….

March 2013