Black & Decker’s thermal leak detector

Tuesday 12 January 2010 in uncategorized by Chris Goodall | 5 comments

Call or write to Black & Decker to demand that the company launches its Thermal Leak Detector in Europe and elsewhere. This is the single most useful energy saving device I have ever seen. Europeans can buy it from Amazon.com in the States, but shipping and customs charges make it quite expensive. Let’s get it here before the winter ends.

What is it?
When pointed at a wall, a window or any other solid object, The Thermal Leak Detector detects the temperature. It compares this to the standard temperature in the room. If the place at which the device is pointed is markedly colder than the room (i.e. there is a heat leak at that point) a light shining from the detector changes colour from green to blue. This provides immediate and effective visual indication of leaks around doors, windows, and corners in the house and enables you to target your insulation efforts.

It is a handheld device, powered by a single battery. The instructions are simple and clear, making it an absolute delight to use. The Amazon.com price is about $50, but VAT, customs duties, and shipping pushed the price up to over £60 for me. Delivery was swift and efficient.

The manufacturers claim the detector can save 20% off your fuel bills. This seems a bit unlikely to me – 10% might be an achievable target – but the payback is undoubtedly very quick. Average UK heating bills this year will be over £600 and many households will face costs of £200 this month because of the unusually cold January weather. So buy it from the States if necessary and share it with your friends.

Below is a video file, shot on my mobile phone, of the device in action. I am shining the light at the front door and you can see the colour change at a point where I need to replace the draught excluder. I apologise for the poor quality of the file – click here to download it.

Black & Decker – get this into European shops as soon as you can.

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  1. Ben’s avatar

    Ben on Thursday 14 January 2010 at 11.33am

    I got this response from B&D when I emailed them this morning:

    ——————————————————————————————————————-
    Response (Tanya Iqbal) – 01/14/2010 10:29 AM
    Mr Argyle,

    The decision to release products in the UK are made by our marketing department, based on many different variables.

    I’m afraid I cannot give any further explanation than that [as to why we won't be releasing the Thermal Leak Detector in the UK]. We may well release it in the future, but we don’t wish to do so right now.

    Please visit our website regularly for updates.

    Kind Regards,

    Tanya Iqbal
    Service Technical
    ——————————————————————————————————————-

    So there we have it.

  2. Matthew Phillips’s avatar

    Matthew Phillips on Thursday 14 January 2010 at 2.08pm

    Maplin sell two – each at £49.99. So can buy it in their shops or on-line.
    + One has a celsius/farenheit switch
    http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=46033
    + One has two lasers so you can see the coverage area and indicates the optimal distance (like Dambusters!)
    http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=221048
    - Neither has the blue light, but it is pretty easy to keep your eye on the screen.

  4. Mike’s avatar

    Mike on Friday 15 January 2010 at 5.02pm

    Interesting device – seems dead simple to use by the sound of it. I can see a few short coming though.

    In most old houses drafts are one of the most significant sources of heat loss (around leaky windows and doors etc…). If this unit only measures surface temperature it can’t flag up areas that need draft proofing, which is one of the cheapest and most effective steps most homeowners can take.

    Can you program in the external air temperature as well as the internal and so get a measure of actual heat loss? or is it just an LED that is on or off based on internal temperatures?

    I think one of these would be excellent for my parents to see where insulation is missing from the odd corners of their convoluted roof line.

    Mike

  5. Mustang’s avatar

    Mustang on Tuesday 19 January 2010 at 5.06am

    Here’s an automotive idea for you that could work if you can’t find another source in the UK.

    I use an automotive pyrometer.

    It is a digital readout device with a flexible arm that’s used for sampling temperatures in and around an automobile. Since it can be used on anything from air conditioning to hot exhaust manifolds, it certainly can capture differences in temperature in a home.

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