[Keith_McClary]

Researchers find wasted heat costing Calgary homeowners millions

But the images collected by a sophisticated, thermal imaging camera on board the aircraft are now waking residents to the financial and environmental cost of the heat that’s silently seeping from their homes.

A team of researchers at the University of Calgary used the images and city data to create a web-based map that shows potential greenhouse gas emissions for entire suburbs and pinpoints hot spots in each individual home where waste energy is escaping.

[Plantagenet]

This FLIR technology is way cool. I borrowed a FLIR camera from the university here and did imagery of my house. It did a great job of finding holes in the insulation. Then I took it around and photographed people, dogs, cars, and anything else I could think of. Its very interesting technology.

[frankthetank]

If you have a home energy audit, they usually use one of the Flir cameras. They are awesome at finding where the heat is being lost. Expensive gadget.

[yellowcanoe]

Improving roof insulation is difficult if you have a roof with no attic. Our home has a roof with a slight slope and had a tar and gravel type roof when we purchased it 11 years ago. It was pretty obvious we had a problem as icicles would form around the roof when we had a good amount of snow and very cold temperatures. Last summer we discovered we needed a new roof and took the opportunity to replace the ridiculous 3.5" fibreglass batt insulation with 7-8" of closed cell foam insulation. We now have a roof that is much better insulated and air tight. We really notice the difference -- the upstairs doesn't get as hot on a hot day and the furnace seems to run less often even though this winter has been substantially colder than last winter.

The challenge in doing this job was in finding a roofing contractor that would also take care of the insulation job. We had roofers tell us they would work with our insulator but as the insulation contractor needs to work closely with the roofing contractor it made no sense for us to try to contract separately with an insulation contractor.

It wasn't cheap but it will be worth it in the long run. I suspect though that most people getting their flat roof redone are not thinking about reinsulating their roof. The roofing contractors are not suggesting it either -- from their perspective trying to coordinate with an insulation contractor is a pain in the ass.