The Assessment Process, Step by Step

Initial Consultation

The process begins with a conversation — by phone or email — about your property, its approximate age, construction type, and what you are hoping to achieve. This helps us understand the context before we visit and allows us to identify any specific concerns or constraints that should inform the assessment.

Common starting points include: preparing a property for sale and wanting to understand its upgrade potential, planning a programme of improvements and wanting to know the right sequence, or having already had some work done and wanting to understand what remains to be addressed.

Thermal Imaging Survey

The on-site assessment begins with a thermal imaging survey of the building envelope. This requires specific environmental conditions — a meaningful temperature differential between inside and outside the building, typically at least 10°C — so the survey is usually conducted in cooler months or in the early morning when conditions are suitable.

We scan all accessible external walls, the ceiling of the top floor, ground floor areas where possible, and all window and door reveals. The thermal images are recorded and annotated to identify areas of heat loss, cold bridging, and potential air infiltration.

Physical Measurements and Element Assessment

Alongside the thermal survey, we take physical measurements of the building and assess each building element: wall construction and any existing insulation, attic insulation depth and coverage, floor construction, window specifications and condition, and door types. Where access permits, we inspect the attic space directly.

This information is used to assign U-values to each element — the measure of how readily heat passes through it. These U-values, combined with the measured areas of each element, form the basis for the heat loss calculations.

Ventilation and Heating System Review

We review the existing ventilation provision — trickle vents, extract fans, passive vents — in the context of the building's current and proposed airtightness level. This is particularly important when significant insulation upgrades are planned, as improving airtightness without adequate ventilation can lead to moisture accumulation and indoor air quality problems.

The heating system review covers boiler type, age and efficiency rating, controls and programmability, hot water cylinder insulation, and whether radiator sizing is appropriate for the building's current and projected heat demand.

Technical Analysis and Calculation

After the site visit, we complete the heat loss calculations for each building element. This produces a ranked picture of where heat is leaving the building and by how much — the foundation for the upgrade recommendations.

We then model the effect of potential upgrades on the building's overall heat loss and projected BER rating. This allows us to show the relative impact of different upgrades and to identify the sequence that delivers the most improvement for the investment made.

Written Report and Roadmap Delivery

The assessment findings are compiled into a written technical report. This includes the thermal images with annotations, the heat loss calculations by element, the ventilation and heating system findings, and the prioritised upgrade roadmap.

The roadmap section sets out the recommended sequence of upgrades, the rationale for the sequence, and the projected BER improvement associated with each upgrade. The report is written to be usable by the homeowner in conversations with contractors, architects, and SEAI grant advisors — though we do not manage those conversations on your behalf.

Follow-up Q&A Session

Once you have had time to read the report, we schedule a follow-up session — by phone or video call — to walk through the findings and answer any questions. This is an opportunity to discuss specific upgrade options in more detail, to understand the reasoning behind the sequencing, or to explore how the plan might be adapted to different budget scenarios.