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It is the first time the hi-tech vehicle has been used in Greater Manchester. And though it鈥檚 been prowling Salford鈥檚 streets after dark, the HeatSeekers van is actually one of the good guys.

What it does is to provide householders with a thermal image of their homes: yellow and red is bad and that means heat escaping into the night air, adding to fuel bills and your carbon footprint.

This house needs loft insulation

The HeatSeekers scheme has been set up by Salford City Council which is hoping to persuade homeowners to apply for grants for cavity wall and loft insulation that could save them up 拢250 a year.

Elderly residents and families with young children could be eligible for free insulation.

Salford resident Ron Hallen has already seen sense and spent money on keeping his home warm. "I鈥檓 all for it," he said. "Too many people don鈥檛 understand spending money to save money."

Save money

The heat-seeking van automatically detects heat leaking from homes and can scan up to 1,000 properties in an hour.

If a home is shown to be in need of insulation, a thermal image will be sent to the address along with details of the scheme.

No heat loss from Ron Hallen's house

Dawn Morley of HeatSeekers: "You can see the heat loss coming out of the walls so if the temperature of their walls is say 8C, effectively they鈥檙e paying for their energy twice because half of it鈥檚 coming out of the wall."

The scheme is partnership between Salford City Council, the Energy Saving Trust and the Mark Group.

Salford councillor Keith Mann said: "We're trying to help them both to save money to keep warm and to enjoy their homes more than they can do if it鈥檚 cold."

• For more information on the HeatSeekers scheme, email Salford's Affordable Warmth team at KeepingWarm@salford.gov.uk or ring (0161) 922 8732.
  

• If you would like to have insulation work done, call the HeatSeekers hotline on 0845 390 9390 (9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday)