Roof heat loss detection using airborne thermal infrared imagery

As part of the Austrian and European attempt to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, thermal rehabilitation and the improvement of the energy efficiency of buildings became an important topic in research as well as in building construction and refurbishment. Today, in-situ thermal infrared measurements are routinely used to determine energy loss through the building envelope. However, in-situ thermal surveys are expensive and time consuming, and in many cases the detection of the amount and location of waste heat leaving building through roofs is not possible with ground-based observations. For some years now, a new generation of high-resolution thermal infrared sensors makes it possible to survey heat-loss through roofs at a high level of detail and accuracy. However, to date, comparable studies have mainly been conducted on buildings with uniform roof covering and provided two-dimensional, qualitative information. This pilot study aims to survey the heat-loss through roofs of the buildings of the University of Graz (Austria) campus by using high-resolution airborne thermal infrared imagery (TABI 1800 - Thermal Airborne Broadband imager). TABI-1800 acquires data in a spectral range from 3.7 - 4.8 micron, a thermal resolution of 0.05 °C and a spatial resolution of 0.6 m. The remote sensing data is calibrated to different roof coverings (e.g. clay shingle, asphalt shingle, tin roof, glass) and combined with a roof surface model to determine the amount of waste heat leaving the building and to identify hot spots. The additional integration of information about the conditions underneath the roofs into the study allows a more detailed analysis of the upward heat flux and is a significant improvement of existing methods. The resulting data set provides useful information to the university facility service for infrastructure maintenance, especially in terms of attic and roof insulation improvements. Beyond that, the project is supposed to raise public awareness in the context of climate-neutral actions, and in a long run, contribute to significantly reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions.