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Applications of the infrared thermography in the energy audit of buildings: A review

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  • Lucchi, Elena

Abstract

From a wide range of bibliography (148 publications composed by books, guidelines, scientific papers, and other documents), the study presents a critical review of the use of the infrared thermography (IRT) survey in the building energy audit. After explaining its historical growth, the applicability of passive and active approaches has been described, considering well-established and emerging techniques, general procedures, types of IR-camera used, technical issues, and limitations. The passive approach is the most common to detect thermally significant defects. Thus, a specific procedure for the energy audit has been reported, matching different standards, guidelines, and professional advice. Similarly, recurring energy related problems are toughly presented (i.e. thermal characterization of buildings; thermal bridging, insulation level, air leakage and moisture detection; indoor temperature and U-value measurements; human comfort assessment). Finally, advantages and potential sources of errors as well as future trends in the use of IRT for the energy audit have been described. The research aims to serve as a reference for energy auditors and thermographers, to decide upon the best procedure for detecting specific energy defects.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucchi, Elena, 2018. "Applications of the infrared thermography in the energy audit of buildings: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3077-3090.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:82:y:2018:i:p3:p:3077-3090
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2017.10.031
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    1. Fokaides, Paris A. & Kalogirou, Soteris A., 2011. "Application of infrared thermography for the determination of the overall heat transfer coefficient (U-Value) in building envelopes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(12), pages 4358-4365.
    2. Fokaides, Paris A. & Jurelionis, Andrius & Gagyte, Laura & Kalogirou, Soteris A., 2016. "Mock target IR thermography for indoor air temperature measurement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 676-685.
    3. Kylili, Angeliki & Fokaides, Paris A. & Christou, Petros & Kalogirou, Soteris A., 2014. "Infrared thermography (IRT) applications for building diagnostics: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 531-549.
    4. Lehmann, B. & Ghazi Wakili, K. & Frank, Th. & Vera Collado, B. & Tanner, Ch., 2013. "Effects of individual climatic parameters on the infrared thermography of buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 29-43.
    5. Ohlsson, K.E.A. & Olofsson, T., 2014. "Quantitative infrared thermography imaging of the density of heat flow rate through a building element surface," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 499-505.
    6. Giuliano Dall'O' & Luca Sarto & Angela Panza, 2013. "Infrared Screening of Residential Buildings for Energy Audit Purposes: Results of a Field Test," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(8), pages 1-20, July.
    7. Fox, Matthew & Coley, David & Goodhew, Steve & de Wilde, Pieter, 2014. "Thermography methodologies for detecting energy related building defects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 296-310.
    8. Francesco Bianchi & Anna Laura Pisello & Giorgio Baldinelli & Francesco Asdrubali, 2014. "Infrared Thermography Assessment of Thermal Bridges in Building Envelope: Experimental Validation in a Test Room Setup," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-14, October.
    9. Asdrubali, Francesco & Baldinelli, Giorgio & Bianchi, Francesco, 2012. "A quantitative methodology to evaluate thermal bridges in buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 365-373.
    10. Albatici, Rossano & Tonelli, Arnaldo M. & Chiogna, Michela, 2015. "A comprehensive experimental approach for the validation of quantitative infrared thermography in the evaluation of building thermal transmittance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 218-228.
    11. Flores Larsen, Silvana & Hongn, Marcos, 2014. "Determining the infrared reflectance of specular surfaces by using thermographic analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 306-313.
    12. Baldinelli, G. & Bianchi, F., 2014. "Windows thermal resistance: Infrared thermography aided comparative analysis among finite volumes simulations and experimental methods," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 250-258.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mirco Andreotti & Marta Calzolari & Pietromaria Davoli & Luisa Dias Pereira & Elena Lucchi & Roberto Malaguti, 2020. "Design and Construction of a New Metering Hot Box for the In Situ Hygrothermal Measurement in Dynamic Conditions of Historic Masonries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-21, June.
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    3. Blanca Tejedor & Eva Barreira & Vasco Peixoto de Freitas & Tomasz Kisilewicz & Katarzyna Nowak-Dzieszko & Umberto Berardi, 2020. "Impact of Stationary and Dynamic Conditions on the U-Value Measurements of Heavy-Multi Leaf Walls by Quantitative IRT," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-19, December.
    4. Zoe Mayer & Julia Heuer & Rebekka Volk & Frank Schultmann, 2021. "Aerial Thermographic Image-Based Assessment of Thermal Bridges Using Representative Classifications and Calculations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-43, November.
    5. Rasooli, Arash & Itard, Laure, 2019. "In-situ rapid determination of walls’ thermal conductivity, volumetric heat capacity, and thermal resistance, using response factors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Takahiro Kimura & Tao Zhang & Hiroatsu Fukuda, 2019. "A Proposal for the Development of a Building Management System for Extending the Lifespan of Housing Complexes in Japan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-18, October.
    7. Akkurt, G.G. & Aste, N. & Borderon, J. & Buda, A. & Calzolari, M. & Chung, D. & Costanzo, V. & Del Pero, C. & Evola, G. & Huerto-Cardenas, H.E. & Leonforte, F. & Lo Faro, A. & Lucchi, E. & Marletta, L, 2020. "Dynamic thermal and hygrometric simulation of historical buildings: Critical factors and possible solutions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    8. Shabunko, Veronika & Badrinarayanan, Samyuktha & Pillai, Dhanup S., 2021. "Evaluation of in-situ thermal transmittance of innovative building integrated photovoltaic modules: Application to thermal performance assessment for green mark certification in the tropics," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    9. Sukjoon Oh & Suyeon Ham & Seongjin Lee, 2021. "Drone-Assisted Image Processing Scheme using Frame-Based Location Identification for Crack and Energy Loss Detection in Building Envelopes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-19, October.
    10. Gertsvolf, David & Horvat, Miljana & Aslam, Danesh & Khademi, April & Berardi, Umberto, 2024. "A U-net convolutional neural network deep learning model application for identification of energy loss in infrared thermographic images," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 360(C).
    11. Dawid Szurgacz & Sergey Zhironkin & Stefan Vöth & Jiří Pokorný & A.J.S. (Sam) Spearing & Michal Cehlár & Marta Stempniak & Leszek Sobik, 2021. "Thermal Imaging Study to Determine the Operational Condition of a Conveyor Belt Drive System Structure," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-18, June.
    12. Paulo Santos & Gabriela Lemes & Diogo Mateus, 2020. "Analytical Methods to Estimate the Thermal Transmittance of LSF Walls: Calculation Procedures Review and Accuracy Comparison," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-27, February.
    13. Martin, Miguel & Chong, Adrian & Biljecki, Filip & Miller, Clayton, 2022. "Infrared thermography in the built environment: A multi-scale review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    14. Kheira Anissa Tabet Aoul & Rahma Hagi & Rahma Abdelghani & Monaya Syam & Boshra Akhozheya, 2021. "Building Envelope Thermal Defects in Existing and Under-Construction Housing in the UAE; Infrared Thermography Diagnosis and Qualitative Impacts Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-23, February.
    15. Garrido, I. & Lagüela, S. & Otero, R. & Arias, P., 2020. "Thermographic methodologies used in infrastructure inspection: A review—Post-processing procedures," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    16. Shariq, M. Hasan & Hughes, Ben Richard, 2020. "Revolutionising building inspection techniques to meet large-scale energy demands: A review of the state-of-the-art," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    17. Javad Zare Derakhshan & Saeed Firouzi & Armaghan Kosari-Moghaddam, 2022. "Energy audit of tobacco production agro-system based on different farm size levels in northern Iran," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 2715-2735, February.
    18. Bienvenido-Huertas, David & Moyano, Juan & Marín, David & Fresco-Contreras, Rafael, 2019. "Review of in situ methods for assessing the thermal transmittance of walls," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 356-371.
    19. Younness EL Fouih & Amine Allouhi & Jamil Abdelmajid & Tarik Kousksou & Youssef Mourad, 2020. "Post Energy Audit of Two Mosques as a Case Study of Intermittent Occupancy Buildings: Toward more Sustainable Mosques," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-22, December.

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