Use of Drone and Infrared Camera for a Campus Building Envelope Study

• Main Author: Ariwoola, Raheem Taiwo
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2016
• Subjects: Energy efficiency; Building envelope; Infrared thermography; R-value; Insulation deficiency; Power and Energy
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3018; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4438&context=etd

Presently, there are concerns that buildings in the USA under-performs in terms of energy efficiency when compared with the original design specifications. A significant percentage of the energy loss in these buildings is associated with the building’s envelope. This study provides a qualitative and analytical understanding of the R-value, which indicates the thermal performance of the elements that make up a building envelope. Infrared thermography is used as a methodology to assess the thermal performance of envelopes of ten buildings on East Tennessee State University Campus. A Fluke Ti25 infrared hand-held camera and a DJI phantom-2 drone mounted with FLIR Vue Pro infrared camera were used for data collection. Data analyses were carried out using ‘Smartview’ and ‘FLIR Reporter Pro’ software. The data analyses revealed energy loss, insulation deficiencies, the associated energy costs of the inefficiencies and the potential savings that could result from correcting these deficiencies in the evaluated building’s envelopes.