What causes heat to escape from your home ?

As the chill of winter approaches, homeowners face the challenge of keeping their houses warm and comfortable. While modern heating systems offer a good solution against the cold, they also bring a significant concern: the expensive cost of heating. This issue is particularly pronounced in poorly insulated homes, where heat loss is not just an inconvenience but also a financial drain.

Heat escapes from every part of a house that lacks proper insulation, leading to increased energy consumption and higher bills. The escape of warm air from inside and the intrusion of cold air from outside, force heating systems to work more than usually needed, reducing their efficiency and lifetime. This not only impacts the household budget but also contributes to a larger environmental problem of increased energy use.

Distribution of heat loss in your houses: About 35% through your walls, 25% through your roof, 15% through your floors and 25% through draught and windows.

Uncovering the Secrets of Heat Loss in Homes

Understanding how heat escapes from uninsulated houses is essential for both improving energy efficiency and reducing heating costs. Here's an overview of the key principles and considerations:

Conduction: This is the main way heat moves through materials. In uninsulated houses, heat passes through walls, floors, and ceilings by conduction. Insulating these parts of the house reduces this effect by creating a barrier that slows down the transfer of heat.

Convection: Heat can also escape through air movement. In houses, this occurs when warm air rises and escapes through gaps or leaks in the building, such as around windows or doors. This allows cooler air to enter the house, leading to further heat loss

Radiation: Heat can radiate from warm surfaces to cooler surfaces. For example, heat can radiate from a warm interior wall to a colder external wall, leading to a cooling of the room. Insulation can help prevent this by reflecting radiant heat back into the room.

Air Leakage / Draught: Uninsulated houses often have significant air leaks, which contribute to heat loss. Sealing these leaks with caulking or weatherstripping can significantly reduce the problem.

Thermal Bridging: This occurs when materials that are more conductive than the surrounding materials create a path for heat flow. For example, wooden studs in walls can act as thermal bridges. Insulating these areas can help prevent further loss of heat.

Cut Heat Loss is here to help

Thermal imaging surveys are a powerful tool in identifying uninsulated areas in a house. Cut Heat Loss uses infrared cameras to visually display the temperature differences on the surfaces of a house, revealing where heat is being lost. It can be particularly beneficial for identifying heat loss areas. We can also detect air leaks around windows, doors and other joints. Thanks to our images, you’ll be able to see thermal bridges and other inconsistencies in insulation, such as gaps and leaks. If you need a screening of your house, get in touch with us.