New buildings are now very efficient when it comes to heat management, retention and thermal living comfort, which can be attributed to architects using modern design tools, understanding and planning techniques. However, things can get missed and mistakes can be made during the building phase resulting in insulation failures and even thermal bridging whether in the design or from irregular building practices.

Building insulation performance should always be inspected and measured following a new build to ensure that there are no defects such as missing insulation material and thermal bridging in the cavity walls, a problem caused when discarded cement/mortar is inadvertently discarded into the cavity wall – affectionately referred to as ‘snots’!

Older properties may suffer from thermal failures due to older building methodology and building materials, a simple insulation inspection to determine where heat leaks may be occurring is a sensible investment.

Insulation surveys are best conducted during the winter months as the primary environmental condition for the survey is to ensure that a minimum 10°C delta between the internal temperature of the living space envelope and the external outside ambient temperature.

Clearly, heating a property up in the summer months to 10°C above the outside temperature when it is already in excess of 21°C presents a very uncomfortable living temperature for those indoors. The winter months ensure a much more efficient survey process. In most cases the only requirement is for the property to remain heated for a period of 24 hours (minimum) to ensure any heating leak has time to penetrate clearly through to the outside.