Installing thermal insulation has become widely accepted, even in the retro-fit and industrial markets where there is no legislation setting required minimum energy-usage standards. In these markets, however, common sense still applies! It is best to fit the thermal insulation you need to make economic and rational differences to your life, productivity and products, rather than generic and expensive prescribed standards.

Using thermal imaging cameras, we can better understand the effect of alternative insulation choices, and associated heat bridging across supposedly insulated surfaces. Thermal imaging helps make visible the heat we feel, allowing us to reveal and compare heat flows through roofing surfaces in industrial applications.

A simple illustration of the effect thermal insulation provides in industrial warehouse space follows:

Three adjacent buildings of similar construction in an industrial park having different roof thermal insulation solutions were compared on the same day. Of the three, one has no thermal insulation in the roofing system, one has a reflective foil laminate (RFL) on straining wires, and one has XPS rigid board installed over purlin.

The thermal images were all taken within minutes on a warm summer’s afternoon. The camera captures spot temperatures, displaying the images in colour, which allows us to “see” the internal surface roof temperatures, for the purposes of determining heat flows and identifying thermal bridges across the roofing system.

We can intuitively see the quantum of heat emanating through the roof systems and can readily compare the effect of the thermal insulation interventions.

If you are considering retrofitting thermal insulation, it will be worth taking the time to determine whether the problem you need to solve is excessive heat build-up or an inability to retain heat within an area. How does heat flow in, and how does it flow out? Thermal imaging helps with this assessment and proposes solutions fit for the circumstances.

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