Having used the FLIR camera to do an audit around the house I wanted to try a project where I could use it for a ‘before and after’ comparison. Since I only had a limited time before returning the camera, the project had to be fairly small. I decided on adding an insulating jacket to the hot water tank in our airing cupboard – something I had been meaning to do for some time.

Figure 1 is the ‘before’ image showing the tank with its integral white foam insulation layer. In the IR image we can see that the tank shows up very hot in bright yellow and orange. We can also see a large amount of hot air above it, plus the hot pipes going into it show up white.

Figure 2 is the ‘after’ image showing the red insulating jacket I had tied around the tank – a standard jacket bought at a local DIY superstore for about £15. In the IR image we can see that the tank now shows up much cooler, mostly blue and green with some yellow patches. There is less hot air above it, while the hot pipes going into it still show up white – I’m planning to insulate those next. An intentional gap in the jacket around the thermostat can also be seen showing up in white.

Use of the FLIR camera clearly indicates the significant benefit of even this simple insulation project, with much less heat being lost from the hot water tank. This is confirmed by our experience in the following days that the hot water became noticeably hotter than it used to be so I was able to turn down the temperature on the thermostat, and so save money as well as waste.