MODULE 3:

•THERMAL QUANTITIES
•HEAT EXCHANGE OF BUILDINGS
•PERIODIC HEAT FLOW
THERMAL HEAT PROPERTIES
 THERMAL QUANTITIES
• • Cavities
Temperature
• • Convection
Heat
• • Radiation
Other thermal quantities
• • Measurement of radiation
Heat flow
• • Sol-air température
Heat flow rate
• • Solar gain factor
Density of he at flow rate
• Conductivity
• Relevance of density
• Conductance
• Multilayer body
• Surface conductance
• Transmittance
 TEMPERATURE
 If energy is conveyed to a body, the molecular
movement within that body is increased and it
appears to be warmer. If this molecular movement is
spreading to other bodies (e.g. to air), its intensity
within the body decreases and the body appears to be
cooling.
 Freezing and boiling points of water (at normal
atmospheric pressure) as fixed points and dividing the
interval into 100 degrees.
 A position on this scale, i.e. the temperature of an
object is denoted as: °C but an interval or difference in
temperature is: degC.
 In scientific work the Kelvin scale may be used, but the
starting point – the zero – is the 'absolute zero', which
is –273.15°C.  Definition : a measure of the warmth or
coldness of an object or substance with
Thus NdegC = NdegK
reference to some standard value
but N °C = N + 273.15°K (Constant)
 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).
 Definition : Heat is the form of energy (Kinetic) that is transferred between two substances at
different temperatures.
 Measured in general energy units: joules(J)
 The joule is derived from the three basic units:

length = metre (m) mass = kilogramme (kg) time = second (s)
 Previously special units were is use for the measurement of heat, even if the joule was used for
measuring other forms of energy.
 The British Thermal Unit (Btu) was defined as the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature
of 1 lb of water by 1 degF.
 The kilocalorie (kcal) was defined as the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of 1kg of
water by 1 degC.
 OTHER THERMAL QUANTITIES
 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

 The Calorific value is the amount of heat released by unit mass of a fuel or food material by its
complete combustion and it is measured in J/Kg

 Calorific value per volume is measured in J/m3

 OTHER THERMAL QUANTITIES
 SPECIFIC HEAT of 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
 The higher the specific heat of a substance, the more heat it will absorb for a given increase in
temperature. Of all common substances water has the highest specific heat: 4187 J/kg degC.
 For gases often the volumetric specific heat is given in: J/m3 degC. The volumetric specific heat of air
is around 1300 J/m3 degC (varying with pressure and humidity).

• Metals have LOW specific heat

• Water has HIGH specific heat
 OTHER THERMAL QUANTITIES
 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
 For water the latent heat is:
 of fusion (0°C ice to 0°C water) 335 kJ/kg

of evaporation at 100°C 2261 kJ/kg

(of evaporation at around 20°C 2400 kJ/kg)

 At change of state in the reverse direction the

same amount of heat is released.
 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:
1. Conduction (In solids)
2. Convection (Liquid/gases)
3. Radiation

 The 'motive force' of heat flow in any of

these forms is the temperature difference
between the two zones or areas (Delta)
considered. The greater the temperature
difference, the faster the rate of heat flow.
 HEAT FLOW RATE

POWER is the ability to carry out a certain work in unit time: it is measured in joules per second, J/s,
which is given a special name 'Watt': W

If unit work is carried out in unit time, or unit energy is expended to unit time, we have unit power.
Thus if we think of power as the rate of energy expenditure, it will be seen that the same unit can be
used to measure the rate of energy flow.

This energy flow may be the
• flow of heat (W/m2) through a wall,
• the heat removed by a cooling plant,
• the radiant heat flow from an electric radiator etc.
In all above cases energy is flowing or expended, and it is the rate of this flow which we measure in watts.
 DENSITY OF HEAT FLOW RATE

If the total rate of heat flow from an identifiable unit is to be measured (such as the heat loss from a
given building, the radiation through a given window) the unit of measurement is W or kW. (kW –
1000W )

If there is no defined area through which the heat flow could be considered, e.g. solar radiation. In
such cases the heat flow rate can be measured in relation to a unit area, i.e. the density of such heat
flow rate. The unit of measurement is watt per metre square: W/m2. Eg: POPULATION DENSITY

(The term intensity is often used synonymously with density, the intensity of solar radiation is
measured in W/m2.)
 CONDUCTIVITY

In conduction through a body or through bodies in direct contact, the spread of molecular movement
constitutes the flow of heat.

The rate at which such molecular movement spreads varies with different materials and is
described as a property of the material – its thermal conductivity (or 'k-value'). It is measured as the
rate of heat flow (flow of energy per unit time) through unit area of unit thickness of the material,
when there is a unit temperature difference between the two sides.


The unit of measurement 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

IN SIMPLE TERMS CONDUCTION / CONDUCTIVITY:

Conduction occurs when two object at different temperatures are in contact with each other. Heat flows
from the warmer to the cooler object until they are both at the same temperature. Conduction is the
movement of heat through a substance by the collision of molecules.
 RELEVANCE OF DENSITY


It must be noted that density is often taken as an indicator
of conductivity: higher density materials normally have a
higher conductivity or k-value, but there is no direct or
causal relationship between the two quantities.


The apparent relationship is due to the fact that air has a
very low conductivity value, and as lightweight materials
tend to be porous, thus containing more air, their
conductivity tends to be less.


The more porous a material, the greater the increase in
conductivity with increased moisture content.
 CONDUCTANCE

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 (i.e. the density of heat flow
rate) when the temperature difference between the two surfaces is 1 degC. The unit of
measurement is W/m2 degC and resistance is measured in m2 degC/W


Resistance of a body is the product of its thickness and the resistivity of its material

R = bx (1/k) = b/k, where b is the thickness in metres
 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 (Cb or kb) can be found by finding its total resistance
(Rb) and taking its reciprocal
 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. A measure of
this is the surface or film-resistance, denoted thus: 1/f (m2 degC/W) f being the surface or film
conductance (W/m2 degC).

Surface conductance includes the convective and the radiant components of the heat exchange at
surfaces.

If the heat flow from air on one side, through the body, to air on the other side is considered, both
surface resistances must be taken into account. The overall, air-to-air resistance (R ) is the sum of
the body's resistance and the surface resistances:

Formula …………….Ra=1/fi + Rb + 1/fo

where
 1/fi = internal surface resistance

Wall
 Rb = resistance of the body
 1/fo= external surface resistance Internal Surface resistance External Surface resistance
 CONVECTION
 In convection, heat is transferred by the bodily movement of a carrying medium, usually a gas or
a liquid.

This movement may be self-generating, i.e. due to thermal forces alone (temperature differences,
thus different densities, causing convection currents, as in wind generation) or may be propelled by
an applied force.

The rate of heat transfer in convection depends on three factors:
• Temperature difference
• The rate of movement of the carrying medium in terms of kg/s or m3/s (Water or air)
• The specific heat of the carrying medium in J/kg degC or J/m3 degC
(Note : higher the specific heat of a substance, the more heat it will absorb for a unit increase in temperature – which means low
conductance and high resistivity)

These quantities will be used in ventilation heat loss or cooling calculations.

(The convective heat flow from a body, through a medium, to another body is expressed by a more
complex equation, not necessary for our purposes.)
 RADIATION
• Rate of heat transfer depends on
– the temperatures of emitting and receiving surfaces
– Certain qualities of these surfaces (emittance and absorbance)
• Radiation received by a surface is partly absorbed and partly reflected
• The proportion of these two components is expressed by coefficient of absorbance (a) and
coefficient of reflectance (r)
• a+r=1
• Light coloured, smooth, shiny surfaces have higher reflectance
– For perfect reflective surface, r = 1 and a = 0
– Perfect absorber (black body), r = 0 and a = 1
 RADIATION

absorbance emittance
White painted surface 0.1 – 0.3 0.8 – 0.9
Bright metals 0.1 – 0.3 0.05 – 0.2

• Both surfaces are exposed to solar radiation, both will reflect and absorb the same amount of heat
• But the white surface will re-emit much of the absorbed heat
• Metal surface will heat up more
 TRANSMITTANCE / U VALUE
 The reciprocal of this air-to-air resistance is the air-to-air transmittance, or U-value: U=1/Ra
 Its unit of measurement is the same as for conductance – W/m2 degC
This is the quantity most often used in building heat loss and heat gain problems, as its use
greatly simplifies the calculations.

 The higher the U value the worse the

thermal performance of the building
envelope.
 A low U value usually indicates high
levels of insulation.
 It is a way of predicting the composite
behaviour of an entire building element
rather than relying on the properties of
individual materials.
 U values are important because they
form the basis of any energy or carbon
reduction standard.
 U VALUE
 U value is a measure of heat loss in a building element such as a wall, floor or roof. It can also be
referred to as an ‘overall heat transfer co-efficient’ and measures how well parts of a building transfer
heat.
 The higher the U value the worse the thermal performance of the building envelope.
 A low U value usually indicates high levels of insulation.
 It is a way of predicting the composite behaviour of an entire building element rather than relying on
the properties of individual materials.
 U values are important because they form the basis of any energy or carbon reduction standard.

U= 1/R1 +1/R2+ 1/R3+1/R4+……..1/Rn

 U VALUE CALCULATION
If the “U-value” of a particular construction is not found in the table, it can be computed from its
component factors.

Assume a wall of a westerly, normal exposure, consisting of the following:

•114 mm engineering brickwork k = 1.150 W/m degC

•50 mm cavity Rc = 0.076 m2 degC/W
•100 mm dense concrete blocks k = 1.440 W/m degC
•25 mm wood wool slab k = 0.093 W/m degC
•12 mm plastering k = 0.461 W/m degC Where k = conductivity (W/m degC)
•surface resistance 1/ f0 = 0.176 m2 degC/W R=1/k = Resistivity (m2 degC/W)
b= Thickness
1/ fi = 0.123 m2 degC/W
 U VALUE CALCULATION
As a first step, the above data has been obtained from tables in appendix 5. Resistances of the
individual layers proceeding from the outside inwards will now be calculated (in m2 degC/W):
 HEAT EXCHANGE PROCESS
 Conduction of heat may occur through the walls either inwards or outwards = Qc


Solar gain through transparent surfaces must be considered separately = Qs
Heat exchange in either direction may take place with movement of air, ventilation = Qv

Internal heat from the heat output of human
bodies, lamps and appliances = Qi

The heat flow rate of such mechanical
controls may be denoted as Qm

evaporation takes place on the surface of the
building or within the building and the
vapours are removed, this will produce a
cooling effect, the rate of which will be
denoted as Qe

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 increase. Qi + Qs + Qc + Qv + Qm –Qe = 0
 STEADY STATE

Heat transfer is the transfer of thermal energy from a body, at a high temperature, to another at a
lower temperature. This transfer of thermal energy may occur under steady or
unsteady state conditions.
 Under Steady state conditions the temperature within the system does not change with time.

Unsteady state conditions are a precursor to steady state conditions. No system exists initially under
steady state conditions. Some time must pass, after heat transfer is initiated, before the system
reaches steady state. During that period of transition the system is under unsteady state conditions.

IMPORTANT : Clearly, no system can remain under unsteady state conditions perpetually. The
temperature of the system will eventually reach the temperature of the heat source, and once this
happens, the system will be at steady state. Even if the amount of heat being transferred into the
system is increased, at some point the system reaches its critical temperature and the energy
transferred into it the starts causing phase changes within the system rather than temperatures
increases. (Latent Heat).
 PERIODIC HEAT FLOW

In nature the 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 outdoors 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 outside.
As this cycle is repetitive, it is described as
periodic heat flow.
 DECREMENT DELAY / TIME LAG
 Different materials, then, allow the passage of heat at different rates. The time it takes the peak
temperature on the outside of a material, such as a wall or a roof, to make its way to a peak
temperature on the inside face, is called 'time lag' or, more commonly, “decrement delay”
 The effects of decrement delay are only really of concern where the outside temperature fluctuates
significantly higher and lower than the inside temperature. Decrement delay is an important factor in
the design of lightweight buildings, typically steel or timber frame, and particularly in warm or
warming climates. By controlling decrement delay it is often possible to control and prevent the
overheating of a building. A period of between 8 and 12 hours might be considered optimum
DECREMENT FACTOR
It is calculated as f (the decrement factor) = Ti (the
maximum swing from the ambient temperature on the
inside) / Te (the swing in external temperature).
The smaller the decrement factor, the more effective the
wall / roof at suppressing temperature swings.
The decrement factor is determined by the type and
thickness of the materials that make up the wall or roof
that the heat passes through.
 DECREMENT DELAY / TIME LAG
This effect is particularly important in the design of buildings in environments with a high diurnal range.
Like in some deserts, for example, the daytime temperature can reach well over 40 degrees. The
following night, however, temperatures can fall to below freezing. If materials with a thermal lag of 10-12
hours are carefully used, then the low night-time temperatures will reach the internal surfaces around
the middle of the day, cooling the inside air down. Similarly, the high daytime temperatures will reach the
internal surfaces late in the evening, heating the inside up.

 Low thermal capacity---------

warm up quickly and cool
rapidly

 Large thermal capacity-------

longer heat up time and will
conserve heat after
switching off the heating.
 SOL-AIR TEMPERATURE (Solid Surface)

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.

A temperature value is found, which would create the same thermal effect as the incident radiation
in question, and this value is added to the air temperature:

Ts =To+(I 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
 In a cold climate a lesser value of fo (low Resistance) would help reducing the heat loss, in a warm
climate (in a solar heat gain situation) a greater value of fo (High resistance) is desirable to
reduce solar overheating. The reason is that the incident radiation increases the surface
temperature far above the air temperature, thus some heat is dissipated to the out-door air
immediately. The greater the fo value, the more heat will be dissipated before it can be conducted
away by the wall material.
 SOLAR GAIN FACTOR (Transparent/Translucent)

It might be useful to consider the combined effect of reflective surfaces and thermal insulation.
For the reduction of solar heat gain a dark, highly absorptive surface with good insulation may be
just as effective as a more reflective but less well-insulated element. (Good insulation with a highly
reflective surface is of course, better than both.)

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.

Ts - T0 = I 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

Ts - T0 = I x a/ fo

q/U= I x a/fo

therefore solar heat gain factor, q/I= U x a/fo

assuming fo= 20 W/m2 we can establish target values for a and U (and thus choose materials to
use)
Solar gain factor Uxa
Warm-Humid climate 0.04 0.8
Hot-Dry season of composite climate 0.03 0.6
 THERMAL DIFFUSION
 In heat transfer analysis, thermal diffusivity is the thermal conductivity divided by density and specific
heat capacity at constant pressure. It measures the ability of a material to conduct thermal energy
relative to its ability to store thermal energy. It has the SI unit of m²/s. Thermal diffusivity is usually
denoted by K.
 K = k /(d x c); where 
k is thermal conductivity

 d is density
c is specific heat capacity
 Thermal diffusivity = thermal conductivity / specific
heat capacity x density
 Materials with high diffusivity have higher decrement
delays and lower decrement factors.
 Increasing wall/roof thicknesses, increases decrement delay and decreases decrement factors for all
materials.
 In a construction element containing several layers, the sequence of the material layers that heat
passes through is a factor in determining decrement delay. For example, in masonry construction
where insulation forms one layer, locating it on the exterior of the masonry can significantly enhance
the decrement delay effect.