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The heat is on

The Guardian has an interesting feature on thermal imaging today, with an accompanying video. Alok Jha, a science and environment correspondent at the paper, spent an evening with thermal surveyor Chris Brind on the streets of Reading. Brind hopes that by confronting homeowners with clear visual evidence
of how much heat their homes waste, it will persuade them to tackle the problem. Jha writes:
Put simply, the Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian homes many of us live in are terrible at keeping in the heat. On cold nights, their uninsulated walls and lofts do a great job of warming the outside air, at the expense of the planet and our wallets: experts estimate that one pound in three spent on household energy bills is wasted.

This results in more CO2 in the atmosphere than all of Britain's flights and is equivalent to all emissions from cars. If we could get a lid on it, the climate benefits would be vast.
Brind's employers Heatseekers estimate that as many as eight million properties in the UK are in need of further insulation.
Last modified on Thursday, 22 January 2009 12:33