Understanding the Role of Thermography in Energy Auditing

Abstract

The building sector accounts for 41% of primary energy consumption in the US, contributing an increasing portion of the country's carbon dioxide emissions. With recent sensor improvements and falling costs, auditors are increasingly using thermography-infrared (IR) camerasto detect thermal defects and analyze building efficiency. Research in automated thermography has grown commensurately, aimed at reducing manual labor and improving thermal models. Though promising, we could find no prior work exploring the professional auditor's perspectives of thermography or reactions to emerging automation. To address this gap, we present results from two studies: a semi-structured interview with 10 professional energy auditors, which includes design probes of five automated thermography scenarios, and an observational case study of a residential audit. We report on common perspectives, concerns, and benefits related to thermography and summarize reactions to our automated scenarios. Our findings have implications for thermography tool designers as well as researchers working on automated solutions in robotics, computer science, and engineering.

Innovations in Building Diagnostics and Condition Monitoring: A Comprehensive Review of Infrared Thermography Applications

“…It is effective in the shortwave infrared (SWIR) range (3-5 µm) and the long-wave infrared (LWIR) range (8-12 µm). This method finds applications in diverse fields, including process monitoring, condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, structural health monitoring, medical imaging, building thermal efficiency assessments, process monitoring, forest fire detection, road traffic monitoring, agriculture, biological sciences, and more [18,52,[64][65][66][67]. However, passive thermography is limited in NDT&E applications where a substantial natural thermal contrast is required.…”

"No powers, man!": A Student Perspective on Designing University Smart Building Interactions

“…In their case, they were concerned with the design a wireless sensor toolkit to support auditing practices for evaluating building performance and ensuring standards compliance. Related to this, Mauriello et al [39] investigated roles for thermography in building energy auditing and how interaction design might enhance this.…”

Designing for diverse stakeholder engagement in resource-intensive practices

“…One strand of research investigates interaction between energy professionals and resource users. In domestic settings, these stakeholders include energy advisors supporting people in fuel poverty [11,12], where energy sensor data was found to be useful in establishing relationships between advisors and households, and energy auditors using thermal data as a communication tool with homeowners [25]. In office buildings, interactive systems and energy data have been studied as interfaces between facilities managers and office occupants.…”