Doll's house to help monitor location and extent of heat loss
December 1st 2006

IRISYS, manufacturer of thermal imagers, is helping plant managers to monitor the location and extent of heat loss of their structures with the aid of a doll's house.

With Government becoming increasingly focused on enhancing the energy efficiency of buildings, plant managers possessing the latest generation of high resolution imagers are able to use the technology to assist the owners/managers of their premises to monitor the location and extent of heat loss of the structure.

To demonstrate the energy efficiency benefits of insulation they have insulated half of a traditional children's toy and heated the entire model by trace heating.A thermal imager compares the amount of heat being lost by both halves, providing irrefutable proof of the effectiveness of insulation – and the vital role of thermal imaging in detecting and pin pointing the locations of the heat loss.

IRISYS's Alan Thomson who devised the demonstration, says:" Although it is only a model, the doll's house has been extremely useful in highlighting the capabilities of thermal imaging from a structural point of view.

"Industrial users are appreciating the add-on benefits of the cameras." Earlier this year, Iris launched its IRI 4010 to compete with higher priced foreign equipment.