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Post by MartinT on Dec 10, 2022 14:49:24 GMT
My cheap laser thermometer has been invaluable for measuring the temperatures of different parts of a room.
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Post by HD Music & Test on Dec 10, 2022 14:58:50 GMT
I've been using TC for many years, they are invaluable when you can't locate a fault on a circuit board, so by loking for hot spots you can 'see' shorts and overloads we have a FLIR E8-XT quite invaluable.
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Post by MikeMusic on Dec 10, 2022 16:30:07 GMT
Mike, being naturally cautious (as tight as a duck's arse) I would ask myself just how much use I was going to get out of the camera once the initial " fun" had worn off, and how long it would be sitting in a cupboard doing bugger-all aftaerward. I would look more carefully at hiring one (OK, you have to give it back, but you're going to get a far better quality tool) or, al;ternatively, what's goping to give me the best resale value, so I could recoup some or all of my putlay be reselling the camera. With the rental situation, you need to sit down and plan exactly what your tasks would be, them write them down, make a plan. That's also a good method for working out the longevity of your shiny new camera. Work out what you need done, and then employ somebody with the same technology to do the work for you. You can show him/her your FLIR images (which he/she will no doubt replicate) and ask for the requisite " after" shots on completion of the work. Just laying out an alternative for you, on a subject about which I know nothing, in the long-established tradition of forums everywhere. Points taken I already have a digital read out. Only partially useful The thermal picture is much more useful. The rental idea sounded a good plan but there are so many places that leak or seem to be leaking. It is possible one wall has not been fully insulated. Was single skin brick, plasterboard inside and I assumed Cellotex in between. If insulated it is a very bad job. Contractors to do this work seem very rare. I've looked and not found much. Standing by some windows and doors is incredibly cold. Pull blind or curtains and much improved. Having it around could be useful in the future
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Post by MikeMusic on Dec 10, 2022 16:37:57 GMT
A sound plan. An alternative approach would be to use a non-contact thermometer in place of an imaging device. From your original post it seems you want to see if heat is 'leaking' out of the window frames etc. If it is then the area adjacent to them will be warmer than further away and that should be measurable in the current weather. I assume that there is a good chance that due to the pandemic you bough a non-contact thermometer (or can if not - they are pretty cheap) and so you may already have something that can answer the question to a greater extent. Yes, a thermal imaging picture is very nice and shows differences in heat emission in a clear way (and always looks good from an energy surveyers perspective), but you don't need a detailed thermal map to show you if you are leaking heat. A thermometer and a pencil and paper will tell you an awful lot. Bought a non contact thermometer years ago Limited use as I can't work out where the leak is, although tomorrow I will go out in daylight and take readings from outside. This might dissuade me buying a camera The thermal survey I had in 2009 may well have spoilt me showing the variations. The builder came back and did some work but I think it was another poor job. This year the energy prices had me thinking hard. The very cold temperatures surprised me as it seems much colder than previous
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Post by MikeMusic on Dec 10, 2022 16:46:29 GMT
I've been using TC for many years, they are invaluable when you can't locate a fault on a circuit board, so by loking for hot spots you can 'see' shorts and overloads we have a FLIR E8-XT quite invaluable. Nice kit. Price is way out of my potential budget and I should be able to see what I need with a more pocket friendly model
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Post by HD Music & Test on Dec 10, 2022 18:56:55 GMT
Mike,
You can pick up a respectable one thats reasonable accurate for just over the ton, the Flir is extremely useful for those tricky jobs that are hiding their secrets away
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Post by HD Music & Test on Dec 10, 2022 19:00:16 GMT
This year the energy prices had me thinking hard. The very cold temperatures surprised me as it seems much colder than previous
Absolutely undererstand that Mike, the combined gas & electric bill hit £280 last month, and its nice and cosy here with minimum heat escape.
Windows being one of the biggest for most, you can have just the offending double glazing panel replaced in that window, rather tha the whole house.
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Post by MikeMusic on Dec 10, 2022 19:47:34 GMT
Mike, You can pick up a respectable one thats reasonable accurate for just over the ton, the Flir is extremely useful for those tricky jobs that are hiding their secrets away Please point one out £100 is less than I thought I would have to go to
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Post by MikeMusic on Dec 10, 2022 19:50:52 GMT
This year the energy prices had me thinking hard. The very cold temperatures surprised me as it seems much colder than previous Absolutely undererstand that Mike, the combined gas & electric bill hit £280 last month, and its nice and cosy here with minimum heat escape. Windows being one of the biggest for most, you can have just the offending double glazing panel replaced in that window, rather tha the whole house. Many windows and doors giving draughts, accentuated by the much colder than usual temp We're now over £600 a month
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Post by brian2957 on Dec 10, 2022 21:44:59 GMT
Absolutely undererstand that Mike, the combined gas & electric bill hit £280 last month, and its nice and cosy here with minimum heat escape. Windows being one of the biggest for most, you can have just the offending double glazing panel replaced in that window, rather tha the whole house. Many windows and doors giving draughts, accentuated by the much colder than usual temp We're now over £600 a month Jeez Mike, that's a lot of money. I thought we were bad at £250. Going up again next year I believe
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Post by MartinT on Dec 10, 2022 22:51:14 GMT
We're on about £590 per month averaged across the year, without the government cost cap subsidy.
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Post by brian2957 on Dec 11, 2022 9:54:12 GMT
We're on about £590 per month averaged across the year, without the government cost cap subsidy. We're £190 with the subsidy Martin but I've a feeling that our payments will go up soon. With this cold spell we're a fair bit more than that. -5 here last night and I think it's going to stay like that all week. What's the temperature like where you guys are?
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Post by MikeMusic on Dec 11, 2022 10:10:49 GMT
Many windows and doors giving draughts, accentuated by the much colder than usual temp We're now over £600 a month Jeez Mike, that's a lot of money. I thought we were bad at £250. Going up again next year I believe Took me by surprise Makes a thermal camera a much better bet
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Post by brian2957 on Dec 11, 2022 10:53:37 GMT
Jeez Mike, that's a lot of money. I thought we were bad at £250. Going up again next year I believe Took me by surprise Makes a thermal camera a much better bet Problem is cost to repair/replace heat loss doors and windows. Could easily run into thousands of pounds. What about a log burner and solar panels Mike?
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Post by MartinT on Dec 11, 2022 11:12:26 GMT
It was -5C last night and this morning, Brian. Will barely go above 0C pretty much all this week.
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Post by MikeMusic on Dec 11, 2022 11:30:31 GMT
Took me by surprise Makes a thermal camera a much better bet Problem is cost to repair/replace heat loss doors and windows. Could easily run into thousands of pounds. What about a log burner and solar panels Mike? There may be fundamental problems that have to be fixed. Wondering if some kitchen units need to come out to explore the wall Windows and doors would be last as expected to be the most expensive We have a log burner we don't use due to the nasty particles it spews out. Both the boss and I are mild asthmatic already PV panels a possibility for the future but this keeping the heat I pay for on the inside Looking for contractors again. There might be one or two that have a clue what they are doing Need the problems found and remedied which might mean multiple contractors
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Post by petea on Dec 11, 2022 11:31:00 GMT
Yes,I'm just up the road from Martin and it is -1 ºC near the house and I suspect closer to -2 ºC further away. Quite an impressive hoar frost out there still too.
I was planning on fixing a couple of fence posts today, but I might put that off until tomorrow as it least it will be +2 ºC then!
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Post by MartinT on Dec 11, 2022 14:06:05 GMT
Playing with my laser thermometer, the warmest thing in the music room is the DAC at 21C. Most of the components are running at 16-17C. The electric underfloor heating is very slow to bring the room up to temperature but is reading the preset 20C. It should be left running but is too expensive for that. The outside walls are all showing 12C. The gap under the door is 9C. The outside ground temperature is -2C.
It feels chilly in here as the heating was only switched on 2 hours ago.
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Post by petea on Dec 11, 2022 14:27:49 GMT
Don't forget to take emissivity into account when comparing materials. Some IR thermometers have presets, others assume '1' and rely on you to make the correction. Also measuring area / distance for objects with hot objects within them (like a master-clock): it would be interesting to see if you can pinpoint the oscillator / oven in the clock from the outside. www.thermoworks.com/emissivity-table/
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Post by MartinT on Dec 11, 2022 18:08:46 GMT
it would be interesting to see if you can pinpoint the oscillator / oven in the clock from the outside. I doubt it, with a laser thermometer. With an IR imager, probably. I dabble with the idea of opening up the AfterDark clock and adding a tungsten cube to the OCXO as I did to the BG7TBL. It's a thought for the future.
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