BREEAM Thermographic Surveys – Ensure Compliance & Energy Efficiency
Certified Level 3 – Master Thermographer
BS EN 13187 Compliant | Supporting BREEAM Accreditation
Our expert BREEAM-compliant thermographic surveys provide precise, non-invasive thermal imaging to assess your building’s energy performance. With Level 3 Master Thermographers and full compliance with BS EN 13187, we help businesses achieve their BREEAM certification by detecting heat loss, air leakage, and insulation defects.
What is BREEAM and Why is Thermography Required?
BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is the world’s longest-established and most widely used sustainability assessment framework for buildings. Developed by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in the UK, BREEAM evaluates a building’s environmental, social, and economic sustainability performance across a range of categories, including energy efficiency, water use, health and well-being, pollution, transport, materials, waste, and ecology. It provides a trusted certification that demonstrates a building’s commitment to sustainable construction and operation, making it a benchmark for green buildings globally.
The BREEAM certification process uses a credit-based system where buildings are assessed and awarded a rating from Pass to Outstanding based on their sustainability performance. The assessment is carried out by licensed BREEAM assessors, who review a building’s design, construction, and operational efficiency. BREEAM applies to new builds, refurbishments, and in-use buildings, helping property developers, owners, and managers reduce environmental impact while enhancing operational efficiency and occupant well-being.
One of the key strengths of BREEAM is its flexibility—it can be tailored to different building types and industry sectors, including commercial, residential, industrial, retail, healthcare, and education buildings. The certification not only helps buildings meet government and regulatory sustainability targets, but it also adds value to properties, improves tenant satisfaction, and reduces long-term operational costs. BREEAM-rated buildings often achieve higher rental and resale values, as they are recognised for their lower carbon footprint and superior energy efficiency.
BREEAM also plays a vital role in future-proofing buildings, ensuring they meet climate resilience and energy efficiency standards set by global sustainability goals. As environmental concerns and carbon reduction targets become increasingly important, BREEAM provides a clear framework for sustainable design and construction. Whether for new developments or existing properties, BREEAM certification is a mark of quality and responsible environmental stewardship, making it an essential tool for forward-thinking businesses and developers.
BS EN 13187 is the European Standard for thermal performance assessment of buildings using infrared thermography. It sets out the methodology for qualitative detection of thermal irregularities in building envelopes, helping assess heat loss, insulation continuity, and air leakage. Compliance with BS EN 13187 ensures that thermographic surveys are conducted under controlled conditions, following a standardised approach to achieve reliable and repeatable results. This standard is widely used in BREEAM assessments, energy efficiency audits, and building performance evaluations.
To meet BS EN 13187 compliance, thermographic surveys must be performed by qualified professionals, typically a Level 2 or Level 3 Certified Thermographer, using calibrated infrared cameras. The standard specifies that surveys must be conducted under specific environmental conditions, requiring a minimum temperature difference of 10°C between the internal and external environments. Additionally, inspections should take place at night or early morning to minimise the impact of solar radiation on external surfaces. These measures ensure that thermal anomalies, such as insulation defects and air leakage points, are accurately detected.
BS EN 13187 is essential for validating the energy performance of buildings, especially in new construction and retrofitting projects. It helps identify hidden defects that could compromise energy efficiency, such as thermal bridging, missing insulation, and uncontrolled air infiltration. By detecting these issues early, property owners and developers can implement corrective actions, reducing heat loss, improving comfort, and lowering energy costs. This makes BS EN 13187 compliance a key requirement for achieving high energy efficiency ratings and sustainability certifications like BREEAM and Passivhaus.
In addition to energy efficiency benefits, BS EN 13187 compliance is crucial for quality assurance and regulatory compliance. Many local authorities, architects, and building developers require thermographic surveys to verify that construction meets design specifications and insulation standards. Compliance with this standard ensures consistent, professional, and actionable reporting, giving stakeholders confidence in the thermal integrity and airtightness of a building. By adhering to BS EN 13187, businesses and property owners can demonstrate commitment to best practices in building performance and sustainability.
The WELL Building Standard and ASHRAE 55 are globally recognised frameworks focused on occupant health, comfort, and well-being within buildings. The WELL Standard, developed by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), assesses how a building’s design and operations impact human health across categories such as air, water, light, thermal comfort, acoustics, and mental well-being. It is a performance-based certification that ensures buildings promote healthier environments for occupants, particularly in office spaces, educational facilities, and healthcare settings.
ASHRAE 55, established by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), is a thermal comfort standard that defines acceptable indoor environmental conditions for human occupancy. It considers factors such as temperature, humidity, air movement, metabolic rate, and clothing insulation levels to create comfortable indoor environments. ASHRAE 55 is often integrated into WELL and BREEAM assessments, ensuring that buildings provide an optimal balance of thermal comfort and energy efficiency.
Compared to BREEAM, which focuses on overall building sustainability and energy performance, WELL and ASHRAE 55 are more occupant-centric. While BREEAM includes thermal comfort as a factor under categories like Hea 04 (Thermal Comfort) and Ene 01 (Energy Efficiency), it primarily evaluates building fabric performance rather than individual comfort preferences. In contrast, WELL and ASHRAE 55 go deeper into personal comfort experiences, measuring how temperature, humidity, and ventilation impact human productivity and health.
In practice, BREEAM, WELL, and ASHRAE 55 can complement each other. A building designed for BREEAM certification can integrate WELL principles by incorporating enhanced indoor air quality, lighting, and thermal comfort strategies. Similarly, compliance with ASHRAE 55 ensures that the thermal environment meets scientifically validated comfort levels. Developers seeking both sustainability and occupant well-being often align their projects with BREEAM for environmental performance and WELL for human-centric design, while adhering to ASHRAE 55 as a benchmark for thermal comfort.
Why Choose Our Services?
BREEAM is the UK’s leading sustainability assessment method for new and existing buildings. To meet BREEAM accreditation standards, buildings must demonstrate thermal efficiency, air tightness, and insulation integrity.
Thermographic surveys play a key role in BREEAM compliance, providing a detailed, non-destructive analysis of a building’s thermal envelope, this is where Thermography Services (UK) Ltd come in. By using advanced infrared cameras, we identify areas of heat loss, thermal bridging, and insulation defects, ensuring that your project meets the required energy efficiency criteria.
Who Can Benefit From Our Services?
Our service is ideal for:
Ensure your building meets BREEAM certification with a professional thermographic survey from Thermography Services (UK) Ltd. Our Level 3 Certified Thermographers provide BS EN 13187-compliant inspections, detecting heat loss, air leakage, and insulation defects. Get in touch today for a fast, reliable, and UK-wide thermographic survey quote!
FAQ’s
BREEAM thermographic surveys are essential for property developers, architects, facilities managers, housing associations, and commercial building owners. Any organisation aiming for BREEAM certification must provide a thermographic report as part of their energy performance and thermal efficiency assessment. These surveys are also beneficial for existing buildings undergoing refurbishment to improve sustainability and compliance.
BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is the world’s longest-established sustainability assessment method for buildings. It evaluates a building’s environmental performance across categories such as energy efficiency, water use, materials, waste, and occupant well-being. Achieving BREEAM certification demonstrates a commitment to sustainable building design, lower carbon emissions, and operational efficiency, making it a key standard for developers, investors, and businesses aiming to improve sustainability credentials.
BREEAM thermographic surveys should be conducted during colder months when there is a sufficient internal-to-external temperature difference (typically a minimum of 10°C). The best time for a survey is late at night or early in the morning, avoiding solar radiation effects on building surfaces. This ensures accurate detection of insulation defects, air leakage, and thermal bridging.
A thermographic survey is required under BREEAM to assess thermal efficiency, insulation continuity, and air leakage in a building’s fabric. It helps to ensure the building meets energy efficiency and thermal comfort standards outlined in BREEAM credits Ene 01, Hea 04, and Man 04. The survey helps to identify heat loss, thermal bridging, and air leakage, ensuring the building performs as expected before final certification.
A BREEAM thermographic survey must comply with BS EN 13187, the European standard for thermal performance assessment of buildings. This ensures that the survey is conducted using controlled conditions, calibrated infrared cameras, and proper temperature differentials (typically a minimum of 10°C between internal and external conditions). The survey must also be carried out by a Level 3 Certified Thermographer to guarantee accuracy and compliance.
Thermographic surveys contribute to BREEAM credits under:
- Ene 01 (Energy Efficiency) – Ensures insulation and airtightness meet energy performance requirements.
- Hea 04 (Thermal Comfort) – Verifies internal temperature stability for occupant comfort.
- Man 04 (Commissioning & Handover) – Confirms correct installation of insulation and airtightness measures in the building fabric.
If major thermal anomalies are detected, rectification may be required before these credits are awarded.
If a building fails a BREEAM thermographic survey, the identified issues must be rectified before certification is granted. This may involve improving insulation, sealing air leaks, or modifying construction details to reduce thermal bridging. A follow-up thermographic inspection is typically required to verify that all remedial work has been successfully completed before final approval.
The duration of a thermographic survey depends on the size and complexity of the building. Most surveys can be completed in a few hours, with reporting and analysis taking an additional 3-5 working days. Larger or more complex buildings may require multiple survey sessions to capture all necessary thermal data under optimal environmental conditions.
A thermographic survey can reveal heat loss through poorly insulated walls and roofs, thermal bridging at structural junctions, air leakage from windows and doors, and insulation defects. These findings are critical for meeting BREEAM thermal efficiency requirements and ensuring a building’s energy performance aligns with design specifications. If issues are found, corrective actions must be taken before final certification.
You can book a BREEAM thermographic survey by contacting a Level 3 Certified Thermographer who specialises in BS EN 13187-compliant inspections. At Thermography Services (UK) Ltd, we provide fast, reliable, UK-wide surveys, ensuring compliance with BREEAM certification standards. Simply call us at [Insert Contact Number] or request a quote online, and our team will schedule your survey at the earliest available date.
