Lidar Surveying Vehicle Measures Energy Efficiency of 10,500 Homes

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21 May 2024

A new innovative surveying vehicle uses lidar, visual and thermal imaging technology to measure the energy efficiency of large volumes of buildings.

The MappIR vehicle was recently used on a surveying project in Milton Keynes to capture energy data from more than 10,500 houses, in partnership with Milton Keynes City Council.

The vehicle has a 360° visual camera unit, lidar sensor technology and four thermal imaging cameras to fully capture a detailed map of the energy efficiency of buildings. Data is then fed into retrofitting software which identifies improvement works. Using IRT Survey’s DREam technology, available funding for initiatives can be identified and commercially modelled in real-time. 

IRT Surveys, a Mears Group service offering, developed the vehicle, and hopes to expand the project to record housing across entire cities. 

Stewart Little, Managing Director of IRT Surveys, said: “We know that when looking at how we approach retrofitting housing, data is absolutely our greatest tool, as it allows the creation of a clear picture of what needs done, and the best path to take in achieving our objectives. But gathering this data is time consuming, and for a long time we have been looking at how can we do this faster and with accuracy.

“The MappIR vehicle absolutely answers this challenge and can survey an area more than six times’ faster than traditional methods. It is fantastic to have completed our first project, and the results absolutely show the vehicle’s capability and potential.

“I am extremely excited to see how the MappIR will allow us to improve housing for residents, making their homes warmer and reducing household bills, while also helping the sector to work out exactly what needs done to get to net-zero.”

Picture: a photograph of the surveying vehicle outside a residential building. Two people can be seen inside the vehicle, and cameras are visible on the top of the vehicle.  Image Credit: IRT Surveys

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 21 May 2024

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