Luton maps heat footprint with Bluesky

09 June 2008, 4:22pm

A thermal photomap, created by aerial survey specialist Bluesky, is being used by Luton Borough Council to highlight poor energy efficiency. The online service provides an instant snapshot of property ‘hot spots’ in the Borough with an easy to use colour coded temperature map. Visitors to the Council’s website can simply type in their address and instantly get an idea of how much heat is escaping through their roof; the website also offers advice and information on ways to improve energy efficiency in the home including details of grants discounts available.

Donald Bowler, Luton Borough Council’s Environmental Assessment Manager said, “The Bluesky thermal images are a very good way of showing residents how much heat they are losing through the roofs of their homes. People can see how heat efficient their property is by its colour and they can compare its heat efficiency to neighbouring houses which may be the same type of building but are more heat efficient due to better roof insulation.”

The property level thermal infrared survey data was captured using an airborne thermal infrared sensor, a modified version of technology used by the military for night vision. Captured around midnight on the 30th January of this year in order to see the widest variations in temperature, the raw survey data was processed by Bluesky to calculate heat loss values for every building polygon in the Council’s Ordnance Survey mapping. The processed data was delivered to the Council as a colour-coded map, providing an instant snapshot of the district and as a map-accurate dataset for use in the Council’s Geographical Information System (GIS).

Luton Borough Council works with Cocoon Your Home, a free, not-for-profit, helpline, (0800 8048777 or www.cocoonyourhome.co.uk) that provides callers with at least two estimates from reputable professional installers, along with details of any council or government grants for which the resident may be eligible. “People may be worried that they cannot afford the up front costs of insulating their home, but all home owners and private tenants are entitled to discounted loft and cavity wall insulation which means they can start saving money from the day the insulation is installed and will keep saving money for as long as the property is standing,” continued Bowler.

“In addition to the high profile use of the Bluesky thermal photomap on our website we will also be using the data to target individual properties for improvement works and we hope this will help contribute to the National Indicator 186 CO2 emission per head of population measurements.”

Bluesky is a UK-based specialist in aerial imaging and remote sensing data collection and processing. An internationally recognised leader with projects extending around the globe, Bluesky has unrivalled expertise in the creation of seamless, digital aerial photography, 3D landscape/cityscape visualisations, and 3D prints. Bluesky also runs a national mapping centre, providing digital maps, site plans, satellite imagery, aerial photography and ultra-high resolution imagery of cities and towns.

Website: www.bluesky-world.com
All reader enquiries to Bluesky sales on +44 (0)1530 518 518

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