19th December 2019

Spot heat loss around your home with one of our FLIR thermal imaging cameras

Jackson Howarth, In-house Writer

Tech
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Despite the recent Covid restrictions, we're keen to continue this scheme into Winter 2020. It’s amazing how many people want to take part and we didn’t want to let you all down, so we’ve decided to keep it up, taking every precaution to make sure that our FLIR thermal camera's are safe to use. With that in mind, when we package our camera's we're making sure that we:

  • Clean all hard surfaces with a 70% alcohol disinfectant wipe
  • Carefully package cameras and clearly label the packages
  • Leave them to sit for 2 days before posting (the period of time the virus can survive on surfaces)

From this point onward the cameras won’t be in our hands so we'd recommend disinfecting the packaging if you're high risk, and making sure that you wash your hands after handling the packaging. The contents won’t have been handled since we sealed them. We’re taking every precaution to keep the campaign Covid safe, but it’s still important to understand that you'll be taking part at your own risk.

Heat has a habit of escaping through draughty nooks and crannies around the house. If there's lots of heat getting out, you might have to turn up the heating or leave it on longer to properly warm your home.

We genuinely want to help our customers be more energy efficient. It's simply the right thing to do, not only because it keeps your bills low, but because it’s better for the environment as well. We believe there are more, well, efficient ways for us to help you be energy efficient than just telling you to boil the right amount of water when making a cuppa. Why not...

Borrow a FLIR thermal imaging camera from us for free to find out where heat escapes around your home

How do they work?!

The cameras, provided by FLIR systems, are super easy to use. You simply plug them into a mobile phone, which then hooks the camera up to an app that reveals the exact spots in your home where you’re losing heat.

  • From inside your home, darker, cooler spots show where warmth is escaping.
  • From outside your home, reds, whites, and warmer colours show where heat is leaking out.

You might end up blocking particularly draughty windows, or sealing especially airy doorways.

An image of a thermal camera, plugged into a phone, showing heat loss from inside a home.

We have 200 of these nifty cameras ready to share with our customers. Put your name down to be contacted when there's a camera for you to try.

What exactly is the deal?

  • We lend a camera to you for seven days, for free.
  • We'll post it to you for free.
  • We'll send you a SAE to return it so we can send it to the next person.

You will need a smartphone that is either IOS or an Android with a USB-C port.

Last year, we lent our cameras out hundreds of times and every single one came back!

Terms and conditions

We want as many of our customers to get a go with a thermal camera before winter's over. We only have 200 cameras, as they're quite special (and pricey) bits of tech – so we're relying on you to get your camera back to us as quickly as you can after you've had your turn.

Here's what you're agreeing to when you borrow a FLIR camera from us...

  • You get it for seven days, for free.
  • If we haven't received the camera back after 10 days, we'll charge you £1 per day for each day it's still not with us.
  • While you're borrowing the camera, you're responsible for what happens to it and for returning it to us safely. If we don't get the camera back after six weeks, we'll have to ask you to pay for a replacement (a cost of £250).
Put your name down to borrow a camera this Winter

How do I set mine up?

  1. Install the FLIR app on your phone via the App Store or Play Store.
  2. Point your phone’s camera at the QR code that came with the thermal camera (or visit octo.ps/flir-1).
  3. Hold down the button on the bottom of your thermal camera for two seconds to turn it on.
  4. Open the FLIR app, turn your phone upside down, and plug in the camera.

That’s it – you’re good to go!

We'd love to know how you get on. Share any discoveries on Twitter or Instagram @octopus_energy.





We tried this out last year, sending hundreds of these cameras to homes with unexpectedly high energy bills (based on factors like consumption data and home efficiency stats), and the campaign was a resounding success!

After offering truly useful, tailored advice based on their own homes, we found that people were eager to use that information to stay warm for less. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this proved much more effective than more generic messages about energy efficiency you see every winter.

In many ways, these nifty little thermal cameras encapsulate everything we're about. As your tech-led energy company of the future, we are committed to using cutting-edge technologies to lower both your carbon emissions, and your bills. As our CEO, Greg Jackson points out, these cameras also reflect the way we stand up for our customers too. When you compare us to other outdated ‘legacy’ suppliers, the difference is stark: 'While other energy providers might pray for a cold winter, we are committed to keeping customer costs down.”

If you do want to know about other ways you can improve your home's energy efficiency, take a look our best energy saving tips.

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image of Jackson Howarth

Jackson Howarth

In-house Writer

Hey I'm Constantine, welcome to Octopus Energy!

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