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Ordnance Survey helps map fight against climate change

Ordnance Survey data has been used to aid Haringey Council in the battle against climate change as part of a scheme to map the energy efficiency of the London borough’s buildings.
The country’s most accurate and detailed map, the OS MasterMap Topography Layer, with almost half a billion features nationwide, has been used to plot the results from an aerial survey carried out by BlueSky in March 2007, which used a thermal imaging camera to capture the heat lost from individual buildings. The results have been transformed into a website by IT consultancy SeeIT to allow residents to pinpoint their own homes and offices.
Visitors to the website can see an OS MasterMap Topography Layer representation of the borough that uses a colour-coded system to clearly highlight how much energy a property is losing through heat. Users can scroll around, zoom in and search for a property via either street name or postcode.
Peter ter Haar, Ordnance Survey’s Director of Products, with responsibility for OS MasterMap, says, “This is yet another exciting and innovative use of geographic information and only goes to demonstrate yet again the flexibility of our flagship mapping product. I am very proud that OS MasterMap data is being used to help combat climate change.”
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Haringey Council is the first local authority in England to publish a detailed web study of energy loss and it is hoped that the project will encourage businesses and residents to consider better insulation. This will not only save money on heating bills but could help create a more energy-efficient building, which in turn will contribute to Haringey’s efforts to tackle global warming at a local level.
SeeIT Director Dan Cookson says, “The project uses Ordnance Survey mapping throughout, allowing this important heat loss information to be easily accessed via the web. This allows citizens and businesses within Haringey to explore the data for themselves, thereby helping to raise environmental awareness.”
Haringey Council’s Executive Member for Housing, Cllr Isidoros Diakides, says, “We would urge those households which are shown to be losing excessive energy to consider installing better insulation and employing other energy saving techniques, which not only save money in fuel bills but can also make a significant contribution to tackling climate change.”
The study is available online at www.seeit.co.uk/haringey/Map2.cfm

Notes for editors:


1 Ordnance Survey is Great Britain’s national mapping agency, providing the most accurate and up-to-date geographic data, relied on by government, business and the public.
 
 
2 Download this news release at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/media  
 
 
3 Ordnance Survey and the OS Symbol and OS MasterMap are registered trademarks of Ordnance Survey.
 
For more information from Ordnance Survey, please contact:
Scott Sinclair – Head of Corporate Communications on 023 8079 2265 or scott.sinclair@ordnancesurvey.co.uk  

Paul Beauchamp – Press Officer on 023 8079 2568 or paul.beauchamp@ordnancesurvey.co.uk  

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