VISUALIZING HEAT LOSS IN SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES: Using infrared thermography to educate and create support for renovation decisions in Swedish single-family homes
2026 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
This degree project explored how the combination of researcher-driven infrared thermography with information and decision-making dialogue affected the comprehension of heat losses, building performance, and energy-related renovation among Swedish homeowners of singlefamily houses and terraced houses. This degree project employed infrared thermography as a qualitative engineering technique for making the otherwise imperceptible building heat losses perceptual and communicating the findings of the inspection to the homeowners. The mixed methods research design involved infrared thermographic inspection of twenty single-family residential buildings in Västerås, Sweden. Before and after conducting the thermographic inspections, the homeowners responded to the questions in the questionnaire survey and discussed their building envelopes' condition during a guided tour. During the thermographic inspections, certain patterns emerged, including air leaks, potential insulation issues, and thermal bridges. The occurrence of the air leakage at the junctions between windows and/or doors and the wall surfaces was the most common finding, which could be observed in every house inspected regardless of the intensity. Potential insulation problems could be seen in some buildings, whereas significant thermal bridges were found mostly in old or structurally complex buildings. The findings indicate that infrared thermography can be used to make homeowners more aware of the actual heat losses in their buildings. Moreover, thermography provided confirmation of the previous assumptions as well as additional support to renovation intentions. For example, it was found that there were many cases requiring the replacement of weather stripping, sealing, as well as adjustment of windows and doors. It is concluded that qualitative thermography is effective as a communication and educational tool; however, the results must be interpreted and cannot be considered reliable in all situations. This project also shows that using thermal images to create an understanding of the abstract notions of heat loss seems to make invisible and incomprehensible processes more understandable.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2026. , p. 54
Keywords [en]
Infrared thermography, heat loss, single-family homes, energy renovation, building envelope, homeowner engagement, thermal bridges, air leakage
National Category
Environmental Management
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-78746OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mdh-78746DiVA, id: diva2:2093768
Subject / course
Environmental Engineering
Presentation
2026-05-27, 22:29 (English)
Supervisors
Examiners
2026-08-202026-08-192026-08-20Bibliographically approved