Ontario Hydro expects that about 25% of its generating plants will have retired by the year 2014. Rather than simply building new generating plants Ontario Hydro wants to diversify its approach by reducing growth in demand as well as increasing supply. Heat recovery is one of several demand-side options with potential for displacing electrical energy in buildings. Where space heating, cooling and service water heating in existing buildings is provided by electricity, savings both in electrical energy and demand are possible through heat pump heat recovery.

This BRE Report gives a guide to the use of infra-red thermography as a means to investigate the thermal properties and hidden constructional details of building envelopes. An introduction is given to infra-red thermography, the operation of the camera and the difference between photography and electronic thermography. The guide describes the aims and requirements for carrying out an infra-red survey and discusses thermal analysis and application of the results.