Introducing Black & Decker’s chill-seeker

The Gadget Show  Monday 08 December 2008

The Black & Decker Thermal Leak Detector: Making draughts a thing of the past

Winter’s well and truly here with more bite in the wind than a tank full of sharks at feeding time. So making sure that your house has no draughts is essential if you don’t want to be dressed like the Michelin Man in your own home. Step in the Black & Decker Thermal Leak Detector.

Using infrared sensors to pinpoint the source of cold spots in the house this tool looks pretty space age. It works by shining a light on the wall around doors and widows. As you move the light, the device will sense the temperature of the surface it’s pointed at. As soon as it hits a cold spot the light turns from a heart-warming red, to a chilling blue. And hey presto. You’ve found the draught.

Black & Decker reckons it’ll help you save 20 per cent of your heating energy costs, assuming you plug the draughts after finding them of course. Available from January, it’ll cost £27. But if you don’t fancy spending the cash, you could always do it the old-fashioned way and just go around with your hand until you feel the chill, but where’s the fun in that?