Thermographic maps: excellent communication tools… when correctly used!
Over the past years, an increasing demand is noticed from cities and municipalities for suitable tools to communicate energy efficiency measures towards their inhabitants. EUROSENSE has been executing several thermography projects in France and Belgium during which heat losses from all buildings within the project area were measured by a thermal camera installed in an airplane which flew over the project area at a cold winter night. Main focus of these projects is the analysis of heat losses through roofs and subsequently an indication on the roof insulation quality. However, thermographic maps do need a correct use in order to communicate to inhabitants the correct message about their roof insulation quality.
EUROSENSE has developed an interesting methodology based upon volunteer measurements during the night of the flight. This methodology allows the inclusion of different parameters of the building causing differences in the measured heat radiation during the flight. Such parameters can be the roof material, the heating pattern of the room under the roof, the slope of the roof and so on. Next to a calibrated and homogenous thermographic map covering the entire city or municipality, an interpretation key and legends are provided as end result. By means of some simple questions in the interpretation key, inhabitants can deduct the legend to be used for their specific building and interpret the colours on the thermographic map in a correct way.
A first draft colour result from the thermographic map of an area in Luxembourg city
Furthermore, EUROSENSE provides training to dedicated personnel of the city or municipality who can help inhabitants with the interpretation and subsequently communicate all messages with respect to subventions for investments in a good roof insulation. This approach has proven to be very successful in Antwerp and neighbouring municipalities (see: http://zoominopuwdak.antwerpen.be) and Ghent (see: http://warmtefoto.gent.be) with several ten thousands of unique visitors in the first months after the launch of the online application with the results.
More and more cities and municipalities see the benefits of this approach and ask EUROSENSE to work out such a thermographic map with a correct interpretation thereof for their territory. Recently, EUROSENSE has been executing projects for Luxembourg City (GD of Luxembourg), but also for the city of Enschede in The Netherlands and the city of Rheinbach in Germany. The results of these projects will become available for their inhabitants in the summer of 2012.
Public Lighting: a huge energy waster!
Street lights consume enormous amounts of energy. A city or municipality therefore can benefit from an efficient use and placement of public lighting. At the other hand, it is interesting for cities to know where public places are badly lit which could result in a higher number of crime facts or dangerous traffic situations at this spot.
Light maps showing the amount of light therefore are an important policy tool for cities and municipalities. During the same night flight on which thermal images were acquired over the city of Enschede (see above), EUROSENSE acquired aerial imagery with a light sensitive camera. These “night images” were processed in the same accurate photogrammetric production chain resulting in a detailed “night orthophoto” of the city.
Example of the draft lightmap result in grey scale. It represents the lighting luminance during the night within the city of Enschede. Locations with too much light can be detected for energy savings , and locations with not enough light can be indicated for security reasons.
In the frame of this project, EUROSENSE will not only provide the city of Enschede with this “night orthophoto” or light map, but also with derived maps clearly indicating the under- or over-lit locations which can be used as a policy instrument at the city, not only for energy efficiency, but also for security matters.
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