CLIMATE & THE BUILT

ENVIRONMENT

HEAT
climatology
▪ TEMPERATURE - definition

▪ Unit
TEMPERATURE
Temperature is actually not a physical
quantity but it can be thought of as a
symptom-as the outward appearance of the
thermal state of a body. If energy is
conveyed to a body, the molecular
movement within that body is increased and
it appears to be warmer.

▪ Temperature is measured by the Celsius

scale.
▪ A position on this scale, i.e. the temperature
of an object is donated as: o C but an interval
or difference in temperature is: deg C.
▪ HEAT

▪ SPECIFIC HEAT

▪ LATENT HEAT

▪ THERMAL CAPACITY
 heat
Heat is a form of energy, appearing as molecular movement in
substances or as 'radiant heat', a certain wavelength band of
electromagnetic radiation in space (700 to 10000 nm). As such,
it is measured in general energy units: joules (J).

Specific heat of a substance is the amount of heat energy

necessary to cause unit temperature increase of a unit mass of
the substance.
It is measured in: J/kg degC.
Latent heat of a substance is the amount of heat energy
absorbed by unit mass of the substance at change of state
(from solid to liquid or liquid to gaseous) without any change in
temperature. It is measured in: J/kg.
Thermal capacity of a body is the product of its mass and the
specific heat of its material. It is measured as the amount of
heat required to cause unit temperature increase of the body,
in units of J/degC.
Heat Flow:

▪ CONDUCTION

▪ CONVECTION

▪ RADIATION

▪ Unit
heat flow

Heat energy tends to distribute itself evenly until a

perfectly diffused uniform thermal field is achieved.
It tends to flow from high temperature to lower
temperature zones, by any or all of the following
ways:
▪ Conduction
▪ Convection
▪ Radiation
The 'motive force' of heat flow in any of these forms
is the temperature difference between the two zones
or areas considered. The greater the temperature
difference, the faster the rate of heat flow.
The rate of heat flow is measured in Watts (W). In
most practical applications, the multiple of watt
'kilowatt' (kW), will be used. (1 kW = 1000 W)
▪ CONDUCTIVITY
▪ RESISTIVITY
▪ CONDUCTANCE
▪ RESISTANCE
 CONDUCTIVITY &
RESISTIVITY
Thermal conductivity (or 'k-value') is defined as
the rate of heat flow through unit area of unit
thickness of the material, when there is a unit
temperature difference between the two sides.

The unit of measurement is W/m degC.

Its value varies between 0·03 W/m degC for
insulating materials and up to 400 W/m degC for
metals. The lower the conductivity, the better
insulator a material is.

Resistivity is the reciprocal of this quantity (1 /k)

measured in units of: m degC/W.
Better insulators will have higher resistivity values.
 CONDUCTANCE &
RESISTANCE
Whilst conductivity and resistivity are properties of
a material, the corresponding properties of a body
of a given thickness are described as conductance
(C), or its reciprocal resistance (R).
C = 1/R
Conductance is the heat flow rate through a unit
area of the body when the temperature difference
between the two surfaces is 1 degC. The unit of
measurement is W/m² degC.
Resistance of a body is the product of its thickness
(b) and the resistivity of its material:
R = b x 1/ k = b/k
It is measured in m² degC/W.
 MULTILAYER BODY
If a body consists of several layers of different
materials, its total resistance will be the sum of
the resistances of the individual layers.
The conductance of such a multilayer body (C) can
be found by finding its total resistance (R) and
taking its reciprocal:

Rb = R1 + R2 + R3
= b1/k1 + b2/k2 + b3/k3
= Σ b/k

Cb = 1/ Rb = 1/ Σ b/k
Note that the conductances are not additive,
only the resistances.
SURFACE
CONDUCTANCE
In addition to the resistance of a body to
the flow of heat, a resistance will be
offered by its surfaces, where a thin layer
of air film separates the body from the
surrounding air. This is the surface or
film-resistance.

It is denoted as 1/f (m² degC/W),

f being the surface or film-conductance
(W/m² degC).
OVERALL AIR-TO-AIR
RESISTANCE
The overall air-to-air resistance (Ra) is the sum
of the body's resistance and the surface
resistances:

Ra = 1/fi + Rb + 1/fo

Where,
1/fi = internal surface resistance,
Rb = resistance of the body,
1/fo = external surface resistance,
all resistance values in m² degC/W.
transmittance (u-value)

The reciprocal of the overall air-to-air

resistance (Ra) is the air-to-air
transmittance or U-value.

U = 1 / Ra

Its unit of measurement is the same as that of

conductance - W/m² degC.
This is the quantity most often used in
building heat loss and heat gain problems.
CAVITIES
If an air space or cavity is enclosed within
a body, through which the heat transfer
is considered, this will offer another
barrier to the passage of heat.

It is measured as the cavity resistance

(Rc) which can be added to the other
resistances described above.
 convection

In convection, heat is transferred by the bodily

movement of a carrying medium, usually a gas
or a liquid.

The rate of heat transfer in convection depends on

three factors:
temperature difference (difference in
temperature of the medium at the warmer and
cooler points)
the rate of movement of the carrying medium in
terms of kg/s or m3/s
the specific heat of the carrying medium in J/kg
degC or J/m3 degC

These quantities will be used in ventilation heat

loss or cooling calculations.
 radiation

In radiation heat transfer, the rate of heat flow

depends on the temperatures of the emitting and
receiving surfaces and on certain qualities of these
surfaces: the emittance and absorbance.
Radiation received by a surface can be partly
absorbed and partly reflected: the proportion of
these two components is expressed by the
coefficients absorbance (a) and reflectance (r).

The sum of these two coefficients is always one:

a+r=1

Light coloured, smooth and shiny surfaces tend to

have a higher reflectance.

For the perfect reflective theoretical white surface: r

= 1, a = O.
The perfect absorber, the theoretical 'black body',
sol-air temperature

For building design purposes, it is useful to

combine the heating effect of radiation
incident on a building with the effect of warm
air. This can be done by using the sol-air
temperature concept.

Ts = To + [(l x a)/fo]

where Ts = sol-air temperature in ˚C

To = outside air temperature in ˚C
l = radiation intensity in W/m²
a = absorbance of the surface
fo = surface conductance (outside), W/m2 degC.
solar gain factor (θ)

The solar gain factor is defined as the heat flow

rate through the construction due to solar
radiation, expressed as a fraction of the incident
solar radiation.

Its value should not exceed 0.04 in warm-humid

climates or 0.03 in the hot-dry season of
composite climates, when ventilation is reduced.

solar gain factor θ = (a x U) / fo

 heat exchange in buildings

Just like the human body, the building can also be considered as a defined
unit and its heat exchange processes with the out-door environment can
be examined.

The thermal balance, i.e. the existing thermal condition is

maintained if:

Qi + Q s ± Q c ± Q v ± Q m - Q e = 0

If the sum of this equation is less than zero (negative), the building will be
cooling and if it is more than zero, the temperature in the building will
Conduction

Conduction heat flow rate through a wall of a given

area can be described by the equation:

Qc = A x U x ∆ T

Where, Qc = conduction heat flow rate, in W,

A = surface area, in m²,

U = transmittance value in W/m² degC,

∆ T = temperature difference in degC

 Convection

Convection heat flow rate between the interior of a building and the open
air depends on the rate of ventilation, i.e. air exchange. The rate of
ventilation can be given in m³/s.

The rate of ventilation heat flow is described by the equation:

Qv = 1300 x V x ∆T

Where, Qv = ventilation heat flow rate, in W,

1300 = volumetric specific heat of air, in J/m³ degC,
V = ventilation rate in m³/s,
T = temperature difference in degC
∆

If the number of air changes per hour (N) is given the ventilation rate can
be found as:
V = (N x room volume) / 3600
where 3600 is the number of seconds in an hour.
Radiation through windows

The solar heat flow through windows is given by the

equation:

Qs = A x l x θ,

Where, A = area of the window in m²,

l = radiation heat flow density in W/m²,

θ = solar gain factor of window glass.
▪ PERIODIC HEAT FLOW

▪ TIME-LAG
▪ DECREMENT FACTOR
 periodic heat flow

All the equations and calculation methods seen so far are valid if
and only if, both out-door and indoor temperatures are constant.
As perfectly static conditions do not occur in nature, the basis of
the above methods is the assumption of steady state conditions.

In nature the variation of climatic conditions produces a non-

steady state. Diurnal variations produce an approximately
repetitive 24-hour cycle of increasing and decreasing
temperatures.
The effect of this on a building is that in the hot period heat flows
from the environment into the building, where some of it is
stored, and at night during the cool period, the heat flow is
reversed: from the building to the environment.

As the cycle is repetitive, it can be described as periodic heat

flow.
 time-lag & decrement factor

The two quantities characterizing this periodic change are the

time-lag (or phase shift θ) and the decrement factor (or
amplitude attenuation µ).
The decrement factor is the ratio of the maximum outer and inner
surface temperature amplitudes taken from the daily mean.
▪ Controls

▪ MICRO-CLIMATE CONTROL

▪ STRUCTURAL CONTROL

▪ MECHANICAL CONTROL
Controls

The environment immediately outside and between buildings can be

influenced by the design of a settlement and by the grouping of
buildings to a minor extent.

Structural (passive) means of control can provide a further leveling

out of the climatic variations, and often even comfort conditions can be
achieved by such means.

Precisely controlled indoor climate can only be achieved by mechanical

(active) controls (the straight line in the figure), but this may not be our
aim, and even if it is, with adequate structural controls, the task of
mechanical controls is radically reduced and it becomes more economical.
Structural Controls

Heat absorbing glass

On opaque surfaces the incident radiation is partly
absorbed and partly reflected,
a+r=1
with transparent bodies, it may be absorbed, reflected or
transmitted.
a+r+t=1
An ordinary window glass transmits a large proportion of
all radiation between 300 and 3000 nm, i.e. both visible
light and short-wave infra-red, but very little around and
outside the 300 to 3000 nm range. Its transmittance is
selective.
This selective transmittance can be modified by varying
the composition of the glass to reduce substantially the
infra-red transmission, whilst only slightly affecting the
light transmission. Such a product is referred to as heat
Other special glasses

Whilst the heat absorbing glasses achieve a selective

transmittance by selectivity in absorption, the heat reflecting
glass achieves a similar selective transmittance by selectivity in
reflection.

The glass is coated by a thin film of metal (usually nickel or

gold), applied by vacuum evaporation.

Such glasses absorb very little heat, therefore the improvement in

reducing the total solar gain is far greater, but unfortunately they
are still rather expensive.

Recently, several types of photo chromatic or light-sensitive

glasses have been developed, containing submicroscopic halide
crystals, which turn dark when exposed to strong light and regain
their transparency when the light source is removed.

Their transmittance may thus vary between 74 and 1%. When the
technique is more developed and more economical, these glasses
may have a future in solar control.