’Paint the town red’: Kestrix wins £100k grant to ignite retrofit action with 3D thermal images

London, United Kingdom – Especially in global-north, industrialised economies, energy retrofits are crucial for net zero – according to UKGBC, the UK needs to retrofit ~1.8 buildings every minute to meet its 2050 emissions targets.

The infrastructure challenge ahead is staggering, and highlights a need for speed: all bottlenecks to scaling retrofit that can be addressed must be, and fast – so that focus can be 100% on delivery.

Retrofits’s awareness challenge

Compared to other decarbonisation levers, retrofit can seem straightforward; while there are obvious challenges (such as a lack of workforce to address the challenge, which organisations like Greenworkx or The Retrofit Academy CIC are tackling) much of the tech – like cavity wall or loft insulation – needed to fix the problem of leaky buildings already exists. However, research shows that there are still several barriers. One of them is a lack of awareness and understanding of what home energy efficiency is amongst everyday people – according to a report by Lloyds Banking Group, only 20% of UK homeowners understand the word “retrofit”’s meaning.

This “retrofit awareness” issue poses a real challenge for implementation. At best, people may not see the urgency of retrofitting their homes and buildings, and thus may not look into taking action. At worst, they might resist when assistance comes knocking (e.g. due to the reality that retrofit is construction work, and can be disruptive).

Can we visualise heat loss?

If a picture speaks a thousand words, what role can images play in driving retrofit adoption?

Enter thermal imaging. How does it work? By capturing infrared radiation emitted from objects and converting it into visual images, thermal images show where heat leaks. In their purest form, they allow for quick identification of areas in a home with high heat loss, such as poorly insulated walls or roofs. But thermal imaging also has a super power: by visually representing heat loss in buildings, it can communicate how to take retrofit action in a way that people actually understand.

Personalising thermal imaging

In 2016, an initiative by the University of Plymouth showcased just the extent of this power by testing the influence – positive or negative – of thermal images when it came to motivating householders to adopt energy-efficiency measures like draught-proofing. The results were clear: when households were provided with detailed thermal images revealing areas of heat loss, the abstract notion of home heat loss became tangible. Within ~6 months of viewing personalised thermal images, those exposed to them were 5x more likely to implement draft-proofing measures compared to those who had not been.

The research uncovers 2 important points: 1) by making the invisible (heat) visible, the technical, dry topic of energy performance becomes more engaging; and 2) by mapping the homeowners own house, thermal imaging makes energy performance personal. If images were generic, or the information delivered in a dry text-based report, the project may have not connected with the householder to make them consider retrofit in their own, personal context. With their unique, digestible energy narrative, participants were inspired to take action.

Kestrix rising to the challenge

This suggests there is potential for images to help us collectively overcome retrofit’s awareness barrier. So, how can we scale and democratise access to thermal imaging for retrofit advice?

Today Kestrix announces InnovateUK’s support of KestrixHOME, Kestrix’s flagship product for driving retrofit adoption amongst resident end-users. KestrixHOME uses drone-enabled mass thermal image capture and AI to visualise a homeowner’s energy performance and retrofit pathway in a way that is more engaging than ever before.

The project is supported under InnovateUK’s Net Zero Living programme, which allocates £1.5 million to foster the integration of data-driven digital applications in achieving net zero solutions (UKRI). Through the project, Kestrix will blend in-house expertise on thermography, advanced 3D reconstruction, and AI with the design and user research capabilities of the award-winning Energy Systems Catapult’s Living Lab to build a best-in-class product that truly makes retrofit action easy to understand.

This will realise a world in which access to energy retrofit advice is made widely available, and everyone is empowered with the information needed to make their homes warmer and lower carbon.

Are you are an energy company, mortgage provider, or municipality inspired to help resident stakeholders understand their homes’ pathways to net zero? Please get in touch to try KestrixHOME at hello@kestrix.io.