Heat loss from buildings is not visible to the human eye. It can lead to significant energy and money loss for homeowners. As part of our ongoing research, we are capturing thermal images and videos of houses in Texel to identify areas where heat loss could be addressed and mitigated. Through these visualisations, together with home dwellers’, we aim to explore whether such images and videos can help citizens better understand how to reduce their energy demand for heating in their homes.
Additionally, this study provides valuable data to enhance building energy models, helping us assess the potential effectiveness of renewable energy solutions such as heat pumps and solar panels in these households. The aim of this research is to inform policies intending to improve building energy efficiency across communities, contributing to sustainable energy use.
Recently, on 16t–17 January 2025, two of our researchers from Utrecht University, Britta Ricker and Mitali Joshi, successfully conducted drone flights for 14 houses in Den Burg on the island of Texel in the Netherlands. Currently, we are in the process of analysing the collected data (thermal images). We are also exploring the possibility of creating a 3D model of the buildings from the images. Participants were recruited through the newspaper article.
Due to privacy considerations, the actual images of houses in Texel are not shared. The image above is from a house in a different region and is shown only as an example of a zoomed-in drone image capturing a wall with windows.
In the meantime, we’ve shared the the thermal images from the first 14 houses with the residents. Next, the JUST PEPP team will return to Texel in February to gather their feedback to better understand their perspectives and to capture thermal images of more houses. Looking ahead, the team will also capture thermal images and videos of the targeted neighbourhoods in Sweden and Norway as part of the expanding research efforts to investigate how heat loss patterns relate to local building practices and energy retrofitting efforts.
Stay tuned for more updates as we continue with the analysis and data collection.
