An organisation that promotes eco-friendly living has received a grant to buy equipment that will help people make their homes more energy efficient.

The Comet: Transition Town Letchworth have purchased a FLIR E6 thermal imaging camera with their grant moneyTransition Town Letchworth have purchased a FLIR E6 thermal imaging camera with their grant money (Image: © Kris Hermans, www.StudioFoto.be)

Transition Town Letchworth (TTL)has been given a £2,567 grant from Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation to buy a FLIR E6 thermal imaging camera that will scan people’s homes and show where they are wasting energy.

TTL plans to start scanning people’s homes in Letchworth GC free of charge by the end of next week, once they have trained enough volunteers to use the camera.

Julia Sonander, TTL energy group representative, said: “We are really pleased that the Heritage Foundation has given us a grant to purchase a thermal imaging camera. This camera can be used by Letchworth householders to take a good look at their properties and decide where improvements can be made.”

TTL previously borrowed a camera from Cambridge Carbon Footprint for a four-day trial and surveyed eight buildings.

Issues detected on scanned buildings included missing areas of loft insulation, non-sealing trickle vents and draughty front doors.

Alastair Stewart, head of charitable services development at the Heritage Foundation, said: “This is a really exciting project from Transition Town Letchworth providing a community resource to help families save energy, cut their bills and reduce fuel poverty.”Letchworth providing a community resource to help families save energy, cut their bills and reduce fuel poverty.”

As part of the four-day trial TTL scanned St Thomas’ Church in Bedford Road, Letchworth GC. The camera showed that the building was losing energy unnecessarily behind a radiator which could be avoided by fitting reflective foil.

Barry Pate, the church’s vicar, said: “We are happy that TTL has managed to identify some heat loss in St Thomas’ Church and for suggesting a simple and sustainable solution. We positively encourage organisations with premises to undertake such surveys.”