3D heat map
Thermal images registered on a 3D model of your building, in a browser viewer with clickable finding cards.
Warehouse and hall
Where does your hall heat the outdoors?
A night-time thermal survey of dock doors, sectional doors, panel joints, ridge and roof. Each finding gets a location, an estimated loss in forints and a place in the fix order.
01 / What you get
A hall’s heat loss is decided in a few dozen places
Most of the heating bill is not lost through the walls but through doors, gaps and a few soaked square metres. We find them and show which are worth fixing.
A thermal camera shows surface temperature. On a cold winter night, looking at a heated hall from outside, leaks appear as warm spots and missing insulation as bright bands. From inside you see draughts and cold surfaces. Together they make the picture.
- Docks and doors: side pads, head curtain, leveler pit, perimeter seals of sectional and roller doors.
- Roof and ridge: ridge gap, skylight perimeters, wet insulation.
- Envelope: sandwich-panel joints, junctions, thermal bridges (column bases, eaves, parapet).
- Heating: coverage of radiant tubes on floor and racking, signs of a warm cushion under the roof.
The result is a ranked decision list, not a pile of pictures: heat loss analysis in forints and, in the 3D package, a 3D heat map.
02 / Typical findings
What we find, and why it loses heat
Four types of defect account for most of a hall’s loss. Simple physics sits behind each.
Dock doors
A trailer never seals perfectly against the door opening. The side pad is compressed or torn, the head curtain is incomplete, the leveler pit leaves a gap at the sides. Cold air is driven in by the pressure difference; in a thermal image a bright band appears around the trailer.
The loss follows the air volume: Q = 0.335 × V̇ × ΔT (V̇ in m³/h). A gap 1 m long and 1 mm wide passes about 5.6 m³/h at 4 Pa, which is 1.9 W/K.
Ridge, skylights and the stack effect
Warm air rises. In a 10 m hall the pressure difference is roughly 0.4 Pa per metre of height at a 10 K temperature difference. High gaps such as the ridge and skylight perimeters therefore get the strongest driving force while make-up air enters low through the doors.
Leakage needs both an inlet and an outlet: the air that enters must also leave. We therefore model the hall as a two-level leakage network and charge a defect only with the extra flow it causes. In the 9 m example hall stack and wind together give about 3.9 Pa.
At the “widespread” level of the example a 60 m long, 3 mm ridge gap amounts to 280 W/K: about HUF 690,000 of gas per season, with an estimated fix of HUF 270,000 and a 5-month payback. All figures are estimates; ranges are below.
Wet roof insulation and panel joints
Wet insulation conducts heat well and stores a lot of it. An intact sandwich panel has a U-value around 0.35 W/m²K; we estimate a soaked section at about 2.5 W/m²K (range 1.5–3.5). 35 m² of wet area therefore adds roughly 75 W/K.
Wall-panel joint seals age. A 2 mm gap over 35 m comes to 110 W/K, the largest single item in the example, and cheap to fix.
Thermal bridges: column bases, eaves, parapets
Column feet, sheet-metal eaves and parapets often break the envelope without insulation. A bridge’s loss is its length times the linear transmittance (ψ). There is no openly available standard table for industrial details, so we estimate from known values for similar structures: 0.35 W/mK, within 0.10–0.80.
They show up well on camera but are rarely economic: the 45 m eaves bridge in the example is 11 W/K, about HUF 28,000 per season, against a fix of HUF 680,000. We mark it “C”. That does not mean it is unimportant (condensation, mould, any renovation) only that on gas savings alone it does not pay.
03 / Worked example
A 60 × 40 m warehouse, eight findings
A fictional but realistic hall: sandwich-panel walls and roof, 9 m high, 16 °C, gas radiant-tube heating, Nyíregyháza area. We show the “medium” defect level.
- total extra loss
- 250 W/K
- per season; range: 490,000–880,000 Ft
- 620,000 Ft
- of a fault-free heating bill
- 7.6%
- to fix the single “A” item; pays back in 7 months
- 160,000 Ft
| Prio. | Finding | W/K | Loss / season | Fix (indicative) | Payback (months) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Wall-panel joints open (35 m × 2 mm) | 110 | HUF 270,000 | HUF 160,000 | 7 |
| B | Sectional door 1: worn perimeter seals | 18 | HUF 43,000 | HUF 90,000 | 25 |
| B | Sectional door 2: worn perimeter seals | 18 | HUF 43,000 | HUF 90,000 | 25 |
| B | Wet roof insulation (35 m²) | 75 | HUF 190,000 | HUF 770,000 | 50 |
| C | Dock 3: head curtain incomplete | 9 | HUF 21,000 | HUF 300,000 | 171 |
| C | Dock 1: compressed side pads | 7 | HUF 16,000 | HUF 300,000 | 223 |
| C | Dock 2: compressed side pads | 7 | HUF 16,000 | HUF 300,000 | 223 |
| C | Eaves thermal bridge (45 m) | 11 | HUF 28,000 | HUF 680,000 | 292 |
| Total | 250 | HUF 620,000 | HUF 2,700,000 |
A A: pays back fast (≤ 24 months) · B B: consider (≤ 60) · C C: can wait (> 60)
What does the list tell us? Of eight items, one (the panel joint) pays back at once. All three “B” items are worth weighing; the “C” items are not fixed to save energy. Fixing everything is estimated at HUF 2,700,000 (HUF 1,400,000–HUF 5,200,000) with a simple payback of about 52 months, so we recommend a sequence, not “everything”. The same building with no defects would cost about HUF 7,540,000 per season to heat (HUF 5,990,000–10,600,000).
Estimate – not a guarantee. Figures are model-based and actual values may differ.
Price basis: net gas price on 9 October 2026, low / central / high: 32.1 / 40.4 / 56.9 Ft per invoice-kWh. Repair costs are indicative, quote-based assumptions. Method: calculation method; for your own numbers use the calculator. Survey fee: 3D package for a 2,400 m² hall is HUF 489,000, or HUF 275,000 under the pioneer programme.
04 / Measurement
We measure at night because the sun distorts for hours
An exterior thermal image is reliable when the facade has had no sun, the wind is light and the heating has been stable for a while.
- indoor–outdoor temperature difference of at least 10 K, preferably above 15 K;
- at least four hours after sunset (or before dawn);
- wind below 5 m/s, no precipitation, dry surfaces;
- heating stable for at least 24 hours.
We follow the principles of MSZ EN ISO 6781-1:2023; that is not a claim of certified conformity. We record temperature, wind, emissivity and how reflections were handled, and these appear in the report.
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Step 1: Briefing
Floor plan, heating system, operating pattern, door traffic. We choose the night together.
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Step 2: Exterior and interior survey
At night we walk the hall; every thermal shot gets a visual photo from the same viewpoint. Inside: docks, doors, the under-roof zone, the effect of radiant tubes on floor and racking.
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Step 3: Analysis
From on-site dimensions: loss, gas volume, cost, repair band and payback.
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Step 4: Handover
PDF report, A/B/C list, raw files, walkthrough; 3D heat map in the 3D package.
05 / Limits
What it cannot do, and what it is not
Better to know in advance where a thermal camera stops.
- A thermal camera measures surface temperature, not watts. The forint value comes from a model, with ±30–50 % uncertainty.
- Not every defect is visible: faults behind cladding, under thick layers or without effect on the outer surface temperature are not found.
- Savings only occur if the repair is done and works. The survey itself saves no energy.
- Not an architectural, structural, fire-safety or electrical-safety opinion. We do no design or construction.
06 / FAQ
What people ask about hall surveys
When is the right time to survey a hall?
In the heating season, roughly late October to March, when the indoor-outdoor difference is at least 10 K and preferably above 15 K. We start at least four hours after sunset so the facade has shed the sun’s influence. If the night turns out unsuitable (wind, rain, too mild) we reschedule free of charge (up to 2 times).
Do you need production or loading to stop?
No. The exterior survey happens at night; for the interior shots we need to see your usual dock traffic, door use and heating. If a dock or door has to be free for a minute for a measurement we agree that in advance.
How can you put a price on the loss if the camera only measures temperature?
The image gives the location and extent of a defect. We compute the loss from dimensions measured on site (m², metres, gap width in mm) and standard physics, then multiply by your gas price. That is why it is an estimate: every item carries a range and stated assumptions. The method is described on the calculation method page.
Is replacing dock seals always worth it?
Often not. In our worked example dock seals look dramatic in a thermal image yet land in group “C”, because the gap only leaks while a trailer is docked with the door open. There can still be other reasons to replace them (comfort, door wear, cargo temperature) but not on energy grounds. That is why every item comes with a payback.
Is this the same as an energy audit or an energy certificate?
No. Statutory assessments prove compliance; we look for where the loss is and what it costs in forints. The two complement each other. Our survey is an engineering thermal-imaging survey, not an accredited or certified inspection.
Related
Worth looking at together
Heat loss analysis in forints
Watts, kWh, m³ of gas, forints: with ranges, an A/B/C order and payback. This is what turns images into a decision.
Drone roof and PV survey
Wet flat-roof insulation at dusk, PV hot spots in full sun, wherever airspace and permits allow.
Request a quote for your facility
Tell us briefly how big and what kind of building it is and what worries you. We reply within one working day and say which package fits. Requesting a quote commits you to nothing.