CCTV cameras are already something natural in the UK, but that doesn't mean that it was easy for the Brits to get used to having their every move watched and now, the authorities want to control the population even more. The latest thing they thought of? Spy planes fitted with thermal cameras that would detect homeowners that are wasting too much energy.

To make it a bit easier to understand, thermal imaging cameras are being used to create color-coded maps that will enable council officers to identify offenders and pay them a visit to educate them about the harm to the environment and measures they can take.

 

It appears that a scheme is already under way in Broadland District Council in Norfolk, which has spent 30,000 pounds hiring a plane with a thermal imaging camera. And, according to officials, the exercise has been so successful that other local authorities are planning to follow in their footsteps.

 

However, despite the authorities' efforts to go green, there are critics that warn this is another example of local authorities extending their charter to poke their noses into every aspect of people's lives. The aircraft took images of homes and businesses, with those losing the most heat showing up as red, while better insulated properties appear blue.

 

The council's head of environmental services, Andy Jarvis, stated that the original plan was to target businesses but it was realized the scope could be extended to include residential properties. “The project we put together was for a plane to go up on various nights flying strips of the district and taking pictures,” he said. “Through those images, a thermal image photograph can be created in which you can pick out individual properties which are losing a lot of heat. We do a lot on domestic energy conservation already and realized it would be useful to see if any of the homes which were particularly hot were properties where people had not insulated their lofts. We were also able to look at very cold properties and think we might have picked up people on low incomes who are not heating their homes because they cannot afford to.”

 

We are just a few, but there are many of you, Softpedia users, out there. That's why we thought it would be a good idea to create an email address for you to help us a little in finding gadgets we missed. Interesting links are bound to be posted with recognition going mainly to those who submit. The address is .