2 Of The Most Common Sources Of A Thermal Leak

A thermal leak is a leak that allows warm air to escape a building during the winter and cold air to escape during the summer. This makes a building more difficult to heat in the winter and cool in the summer which can cause some astronomical bills depending on the severity of the thermal leakage. For the most part,  homeowners in Ireland are only affected by increasing bills due to heat loss in winter as we have mild summers and home air conditioning solutions aren’t that common. However it can be a year round issue for businesses as often there can be quite a few employees in the one area, to save money on your air conditioning bills you will want to keep the heat in. Here are 2 of the most common sources of a thermal leak.

1: Through The Walls

One of the most common places to find thermal leaks both homes and buildings alike is through your walls. Most of the heat/cold loss through your walls is down to a combination of poor insulation, holes in exterior or interior walls, improperly attached vents and other similar issues. This can account for over 30% of your heat loss, if you have cavity walls (which most buildings do) your thermal leak woes can be easily remedied by hiring a professional to inject insulating material into the cavity which slows the movement of heat. If your walls are solid this can be a more complicated task as there is no cavity to fill, cladding will have to be added either internally or externally. If added internally, you will lose floor space, if added externally then you can lose the feel of the building as stone or brickwork would get covered.

2: Through The Windows

The amount of heat/cold loss through your windows depends on a few factors including glazing (single, double etc), how well the windows were fitted, the amount of window coverage on the building and the materials the frames are made out of. If there aren’t any major thermal leaks, reducing heat loss through windows in winter for homeowners can be as simple as covering the windows with thick curtains. However, many business owners don’t want to hang thick curtains over their windows, so a full thermal image leak detection survey should be carried out to decide the best course of action for reducing thermal leaks.

If you think that your home or business is too expensive to heat during the winter or too expensive to cool during the summer, thermal leaks are usually the culprit. Book your thermal leak detection with Advance Maintenance Leak Detection today to start saving on your bills.