Mechanical · Thermal Systems

Thermal Imaging & Building Energy Audit

Intermediate 4 weeks 30-40 hours

Build thermal camera using IR sensor array. Conduct building thermal survey. Identify heat losses and thermal bridges. Create energy audit report with recommendations.

Major

Mechanical

Focus area

Thermal Systems

Total hours

30-40 hours

What you'll need

  • MLX90614 non-contact infrared temperature sensor module
  • Arduino Uno R3 ATmega328P microcontroller board
  • 16x2 LCD display module with I2C for Arduino
  • 28BYJ-48 stepper motor with ULN2003 driver
Shop these parts on Amazon
Shop the parts on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Steps

  1. Mount the MLX90614 sensor on the stepper motor to build a scanning thermal camera.
  2. Program the Arduino to scan walls and windows and record temperatures.
  3. Survey a building on a cold day, focusing on windows, doors, and corners.
  4. Turn scans into heatmaps and mark heat loss spots and thermal bridges.
  5. Estimate energy savings from fixing the worst areas.
  6. Write an energy audit report and document it for your portfolio.

What to photograph for your portfolio

  • Thermal survey heatmaps
  • heat loss analysis
  • building photos with thermal overlays
  • energy audit report

Resume bullet starters

Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.

  • Engineered a thermal imaging & building energy audit using Thermal imaging, Arduino, infrared thermography

  • Applied energy auditing and building science to implement, test, and validate the analysis end-to-end

Skills you'll show off

Thermal imagingArduinoinfrared thermographyenergy auditingbuilding science

Enjoying the site?

Every tool here is free. If it helped you, consider buying me a coffee.

Buy me a coffee