The second law of thermodynamics gives us the heads up that heat will eventually move from the warm interior to a cold exterior. IR scans point us to where this is happening and help us check on how much and how fast this is happening (despite our best efforts).
No startling revelations but several interesting observations.
- the scan is sensitive enough that the interior 2x4 studs are evident even behind 8" of EPS insulation, siding and two layers of OSB! It also confirms the contribution of 4" of blown-in fibreglass.
- the overhang roof surface show 'warm' but I assign that to residual environmental heat and the surface change, going from the wood siding to the black rubber shingling. flir0082.jpg
- I may need to adjust the main door latching. flir0083.jpg This may be a trace heat signature of having opened then closed the door letting heat escape.
- The door latches are thermal bridges (we already knew that having observed some interior condensation on the deadbolt knob in cold weather). flir0083.jpg
- the interior ceiling corners still show a 5C temperature differential despite heroic levels of insulation. It really drives home the difficulty of dealing with complex architectural features such as the lower floor ceiling corner with the setback of the upper wall corner.
- our Vetta windows are all performing consistently. The glazing may be better than the frames - we already anticipated that as we went with the most economical window. But the Elite 92 at 0.8 W/m²K still sneaks under the passive house bar.
- it is revealing that the CERV2 exhaust shows as 'cool' on the north side (upper right on flir0085.jpg). It is a tribute to the efficiency of this unit that the exhaust air appears very close to ambient outdoor air temp.
- no leaks in evidence!
- ⛄
