Thermographic surveys for BREEAM Compliance  

Thermographic surveys for BREEAM Compliance

Thermographic building surveys, are now a feature of BREEAM – the world’s foremost environmental assessment method and rating system for buildings. BREEAM New Construction and BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment programs both recognise the benefit of thermographic surveys. Thermography is completely non-invasive and non-destructive meaning that the building suffers no mechanical or physical damage at all during the survey.

A thermographic inspection for BREEAM compliance can be carried out once your building envelope is complete and heating is on. A BREEAM thermographic survey involves imaging the buildings external envelope with a view to confirming:

            • Continuity of insulation is in accordance with the construction detail/drawings.
            • Avoidance of excessive thermal bridging.
            • Avoidance of air leakage paths through the build fabric.

If anomalies are identified during the BREEAM thermographic inspection, then our highly experienced thermography engineers will carry out an initial investigation as to the suspected causes of the problems. APT will highlight the issues within our BREEAM thermography report and provide as advice to identify the remedial work required to gain a credit for a BREEAM compliance thermographic survey.

To achieve effective results for your BREEAM thermographic  survey it is important to consider the environmental conditions present at the time of the survey. As a minimum, the following site/environmental conditions should be complied with.

            • Building surfaces to be inspected are dry.
            • Average wind speed to be less than 10 mph.
            • Necessary surfaces are free from direct solar radiation for at least four hours.
            • A temperature differential of 11°C between internal and external areas of the building.
            • Heating systems within the building are operational.
            • No precipitation either just prior to or during the survey.

As well as the above items, there are other environmental conditions that should also be taken into account when planning a thermographic building survey. Surveys for example, may be influenced by reflections from adjacent buildings. Also safe access must be provided to all parts of the building is required. This often means a scissor lift must be provided by the client with a certified operator. For more information on how to prepare for your BREEAM Thermographic survey please visit our Thermographic checklist.

 

BREEAM-thermal-imaging-survey-being-undertaken-flir-high-resolution-camera

APT Sound Testing uses the latest high resolution thermal imaging cameras to undertake our Thermographic Surveys throughout London and the Southeast.  Thermal imaging is one the quickest and easiest ways to undertake fault diagnosis on your buildings,  as thermography can quickly and accurately identify  building faults and a easy to follow report, so the defects can be quickly indented and rectified by the contractors.

The benefits of thermographic inspections are well documented and when it’s used in conjunction with air tightness testing it can be a very power combination – especially when its undertaken on  commercial buildings.

 

BREEAM Thermal Imaging Surveys from APT

As the UK’s leading experts in BREEAM thermal Imaging surveys. We have vast amount of experience in conducting specialist thermal imaging surveys for a wide range of commercial applications. To try and help clients prepare for the BREEAM thermal imaging survey to their building, we have written the following article: How we carry our thermal Surveys on commercial buildings. Here is some more information in regards to the new BREEAM Technical Standards as well as scoring extra BREEAM credits for your new development.

Our thermography engineers are all qualified and approved to Category 3, and each engineer has carried out thousands of thermal imaging surveys across London and the UK – and we have contributed towards achieving a BREEAM credits on hundreds of projects. Our thermal imaging reportage is of the highest quality and our reports are always delivered in a clear and comprehensive way, featuring multiple thermal images that provides context for the entire building fabric.

 

Also, it’s worth noting that BREEAM projects are becoming more common place throughout the UK and this will only increase as new tighter environmental restrictions are placed on all new developments in the UK. BREEAM provides extra points to projects that have a BREEAM Thermal survey undertaken. As not many clients are aware of BREEAM thermal surveys, we have included more information in our ‘What is a BREEAM thermal Imaging Survey’ article. Also to try and help clients prepare for their survey please download our Thermal Imaging Checklist.

 

Please contact us for more information

If you would like to contact us for more information on our thermal imaging services, please contact us on 01525 303905 or email us at info@aptsoundtesting.co.uk

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