The impact of thermal imaging on users' perception of energy consumption: The round hill project

In the UK, a significant proportion of energy consumption is associated with buildings, with the single highest sector being housing. Due to this high proportion of energy consumption, it is important to focus on household energy use in order to meet the national energy reduction targets. Whilst measures such as the Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) have been introduced to help homeowners identify how they can improve energy performance of their properties, there have been criticisms as to their effectiveness. To understand how further improvements could be made on energy consumption, a preliminary study was carried out on 10 households using thermal imaging to highlight energy loss to homeowners and subsequently ascertain the impact it had on their perceptions as opposed to the EPCs alone. The findings of this study were promising indicating that in many cases, the use of thermal imaging alongside EPCs had a much greater impact on user perceptions. This paper presents findings from a larger sample size conducted in the Round Hill residential area of Brighton. The area has approximately 1000 homes and the sample selected is representative of the overall household types of the community. Thermal imaging was conducted and presented to occupiers in addition to interviews to identify user perception of thermal efficiency in their properties. Unlike the preliminary study, financial constraints were found to have little influence on how householders perceived energy use and thermal efficiency. Householders believed in improving their properties but living in a conservation area meant they had many restrictions on how much they could change. As part of community engagement, recommendations from the findings of this study will be disseminated to the Round Hill community and other similar areas in city of Brighton and Hove with similar construction methods in order for residents to make useful improvements to thermal efficiency of their dwellings.