Exploring Novice Approaches to Smartphone-based Thermographic Energy Auditing: A Field Study.

The recent integration of thermal cameras with commodity smartphones presents an opportunity to engage the public in evaluating energy-efficiency issues in the built environment. However, it is unclear how novice users without professional experience or training approach thermographic energy auditing activities. In this paper, we recruited 10 participants for a four-week field study of end-user behavior exploring novice approaches to semi-structured thermographic energy auditing tasks. We analyze thermographic imagery captured by participants as well as weekly surveys and post-study debrief interviews. Our findings suggest that while novice users perceived thermal cameras as useful in identifying energy-efficiency issues in buildings, they struggled with interpretation and confidence. We characterize how novices perform thermographic-based energy auditing, synthesize key challenges, and discuss implications for design.