Principles of the

Measurement
of Solar Reflectance, Thermal
Emittance, and Color
 Contents

Roof Heat Transfer

Electromagnetic Radiation
Radiative Properties of Surfaces
Measuring Solar Radiation
Measuring Solar Reflectance
Measuring Thermal Emittance
Measuring Color
1. Roof Heat Transfer

3
 Roof surface is heated by solar
absorption, cooled by thermal emission
+ convection
Radiative
Cooling Convective
Solar
Cooling
Absorption

Troof

Insulatio
n

Qin = U (Troof – Tinside

Tinside)
Most solar heat gain is dissipated by
convective and radiative cooling…
...because the conduction heat transfer
coefficient is much less than those for
convection & radiation
2. Electromagnetic
Radiation

7
The electromagnetic spectrum spans
radio waves to gamma rays
This includes sunlight (0.3 – 2.5 μm)
and thermal IR radiation (4 – 80 μm)

(0.4 – 0.7
All surfaces emit temperature-dependent
electromagnetic radiation

• Stefan-Boltzmann law
• Blackbody cavity is a perfect
absorber and emitter of
radiation
• Total blackbody radiation
[W m-2] = σ T 4, where
– σ = 5.67 10-8 W m-2 K-4
– T = absolute
temperature [K]
• At 300 K (near room
temperature)
σ T 4 = 460 W m-2
 Higher surface temperatures →
shorter wavelengths
Solar radiation from sun's surface (5,800 K) peaks near 0.5 μm (green)

Thermal radiation
from ambient
surfaces (300 K)
peaks near 10 μm
(infrared)
 Extraterrestrial sunlight is attenuated by
absorption and scattering in atmosphere

Global (hemispherical) solar radiation =

direct (beam) sunlight + diffuse skylight

Pyranometer measures
global (a.k.a. Pyranometer
hemi-spherical) sunlight on with
horizontal surface sun-tracking
shade
Pyrheliometer measures measures
direct (a.k.a. collimated, diffuse
beam) light from sun skylight
Let's compare rates of solar heating and
radiative cooling

Spectral heating
rate of a black roof
facing the sky on a
24-hour average
basis, shown on a
log scale.
Equal areas
represent equal
radiant fluxes.
The box in the
upper right shows
the area of
100 W m-2.
3. Radiative Properties of
Surfaces
A photon striking a surface is reflected,
absorbed, or transmitted

• Spectral reflectance r(λ):

probability that an incident photon of wavelength λ is
reflected
• Spectral absorptance a(λ):
probability that photon is absorbed
• Spectral transmittance t(λ):
probability that photon is transmitted

r(λ) + a(λ) + t(λ) = 1

 Averaging solar spectral reflectance r(λ)
weighted with solar spectral irradiance i(λ)
yields solar reflectance R

• Solar reflectance R is fraction

of incident sunlight that is
reflected
• Integrating over the solar
spectrum,
R = ∫ i(λ) r(λ) dλ / ∫ i(λ) dλ
• Solar absorptance and solar
transmittance can be
calculated in the same way
Emittance compares emission of surface
to that of a perfect emitter (black body)

• Spectral emittance ε(λ):

radiant power at wavelength λ emitted by a surface divided
by that emitted by a black body at the same temperature
 Kirchhoff’s law: at each wavelength,
emittance equals absorptance
• Opaque enclosure in
equilibrium enclosure at
– The enclosure filled with
blackbody radiation: BT
temperature T
a
(λ)
– The surface emits B
radiation at the rate B ε
ε(λ) BT (λ)
– The surface absorbs
radiation at the rate photon gas at B
a(λ) BT (λ) temperature T a=ε
• Hence, we have Kirchhoff’s
law:
ε(λ) = a(λ) If ε(λ) ≠ a(λ), the surface will spontaneously
warm or cool, violating the 2nd law of
thermodynamics!
 Solar absorptance and thermal
emittance are independent
parameters
• Emittance and absorptance are equal at the same
wavelength. For example,
– Bare shiny metals, such as aluminum, have low thermal
emittance
– Therefore bare metals have low absorptance (and high
reflectance) in the thermal infrared
• However, typical terminology is to refer to
– Solar absorptance (weighted average from 0.3 to 2.5 µm)
– Thermal emittance (weighted average from 4 to 80 µm)
 Typical radiative properties of
some roofing materials (unsoiled)
Material Solar Thermal
reflectance emittance

Gray-rock fiberglass asphalt shingle 0.10 0.90

Bare gray-cement concrete tile 0.15 0.90

Terracotta clay tile 0.40 0.90

Bare zincalume steel 0.75 0.05

Resin-coated zincalume steel 0.60 0.15

Zincalume steel w/25-µm white coating 0.70 0.85

Wood shake 0.50 0.90

4. Measuring Solar
Radiation
A pyranometer is a thermal-electrical
instrument that measures solar
radiation
 Solar irradiance is assessed from
solar heating of black sensing element

• Sensor is black disk backed by thermopile

• Output voltage is proportional to temperature rise of the
black disk in sunlight
• Glass dome(s) over sensor inhibits convective heat transfer,
blocks thermal infrared radiation
• Instrument can measure incident or reflected radiation
• A recent review on measurement errors: Gueymard and
Myers, Solar Energy 83 (2009), 171–185
5. Measuring Solar
Reflectance
 CRRC-approved reflectometer
techniques for measuring solar
reflectance
Methods based on Devices & Services Solar Spectrum Reflectometer
• Homogeneous surfaces: ASTM C1549-09(2014)
– Laboratory or in-situ measurement of the solar reflectance of a small
surface (diameter ~ 25 mm)
– Average three points on surfaces
• Heterogeneous surfaces: CRRC-1 Test Method #1
– Laboratory or in-situ measurement of the solar reflectance of a
heterogeneous surface, such as a variegated asphalt shingle
– Averages many randomly located points
• Heterogeneous tiles: Tile Template Method
– Laboratory or in-situ measurement of the solar reflectance of a
heterogeneous tile surface
– Averages many fixed points
 Design of Devices & Services Solar
Spectrum Reflectometer (SSR)
Sample
Lamp in center Unit may be
2.5 cm aperture at inverted
top Primarily a lab
Interior coated technique, but can
be used in-situ
white
Detectors view
sample through
collimating tube
Aggregate spectral response of SSR's filtered
detectors mimics solar spectral irradiance

Response of each filtered Aggregate response compared

detector (version 5) to solar spectral irradiance
 SSR version 6 (current model) has 'G1'
output for global solar reflectance
AM1.5 solar reflectances measured with SSRv5, SSRv6 compared to
E903 global

(Note: final edition of SSRv6 measures global horizontal solar reflectance at AM1, rather
than AM1.5)
ASTM C1549: Standard test method for determination
of solar reflectance near ambient temperature using
portable solar reflectometer

• Specimen diffusely illuminated by incandescent bulb inside a white cavity

• Light reflected through a tube at 20o from normal is measured by 4
filtered detectors
• Aggregate spectral response of 4 filtered detectors mimics solar spectral
irradiance
• Weighted average of 4 detector readings approximates solar reflectance
• Suitable for homogeneous surfaces
• C1549 describes operation of SSR version 5
– SSR version 6 weights six (rather than four) detector readings and
has more outputs
 CRRC-1 Test Method #1: Standard practice for
measuring solar reflectance of a flat, opaque, and
heterogeneous surface using a portable solar
reflectometer

• Application of C1549 (reflectometer) to non-uniform surface

(e.g., blended asphalt roofing shingle)
• Measure reflectance at n ≥ 30 random locations
• Compute mean and sampling error (standard error of mean)
• Measure reflectances at additional locations (if necessary)
until sampling error (proportional to n-1/2) is sufficiently small
• Report mean reflectance
Other CRRC-approved techniques for
measuring solar reflectance

Method based on solar (UV-VIS-NIR) spectrometer with

integrating sphere
• Small, homogenous surfaces: ASTM E903-12
– Laboratory measurement of the spectral and solar reflectance of a
very small surface

Method based on first-class pyranometer

• Large, low-slope surfaces: ASTM E1918-06 (2015)
– In-situ (field) measurement of the solar reflectance of a large
surface (diameter ~ 4 m)
ASTM E 903: Standard test method for solar absorptance,
reflectance, and transmittance of materials using
integrating spheres

• Use spectrometer w/integrating sphere to measure spectral reflectance or

transmittance
• Spectral measurements are essential for in-depth studies
• Weight spectral reflectance with solar spectral irradiance to obtain solar reflectance
– Weight with ASTM E891 beam-normal irradiance—matches 1.5 output of SSRv5, 1.5E
output of SSRv6
– Weight with air mass 1 (sun at zenith) global horizontal (AM1GH) irradiance—matches G1
output of SSRv6
Integrating sphere design
 Example of spectrometer
with integrating sphere
• Perkin-Elmer Lambda 900 UV-VIS-NIR Spectrometer
– Solar: 300 - 2,500 nm
– Ultraviolet: 300 - 400 nm
– Visible: 400 - 700 nm
– Near-infrared: 700 - 2,500 nm
– LBNL measures reflectance at 5-nm intervals (balancing detail, speed)
• Labsphere integrating sphere
– Hollow sphere with very white interior (Spectralon coating, r ≈ 99%)
– Collects all diffuse light reflected by sample
• Two light sources, two detectors, several diffraction gratings
• Solar spectral reflectance measured relative to a calibrated standard
(Spectralon disk)
 Spectrometer design details

Schematic of
Perkin-Elmer
Lambda 900
spectrometer
(without
integrating
sphere)
ASTM E1918: Standard test method for measuring
solar reflectance of horizontal and low-sloped
surfaces in the field

• Step 1: Measure incident sunlight

– Face pyranometer away from surface (sensor parallel to surface)
• Step 2: Measure reflected sunlight
– Face pyranometer toward surface (sensor parallel to surface)
• Step 3: Calculate solar reflectance
– R = reflected sunlight / incident sunlight
• Requirements:
– Unobstructed sunlight (clear skies)
– High sun (solar zenith angle ≤ 45°)
– Large surface (at least 4 m × 4 m) to minimize edge effects
Solar reflectance issues under discussion

• For gravel roof ballast, how can measurements on small samples yield
solar reflectance when new and at 3 years?
– See Levinson et al. Solar Energy 100, 159-171 (2014)
• CRRC and EPA databases now contain solar reflectance based on direct
radiation only; transition to global radiation will reduce reflectance of
many cool-colored products by ~ 0.04
• A round-robin study of E1918 performance has been made to
update/upgrade the standard
• Rating of directionally dependent reflective surfaces under study (e.g.,
roofs that look white from above and dark from the street)
6. Measuring Thermal
Emittance
 CRRC-approved techniques for portable
emissometer measurement of thermal
emittance

• ASTM C1371: laboratory or field measurement of hemispherical thermal

emittance with a portable emissometer (indirect technique using
calibrated references)
• Emissometer Slide Method: variant on C1371 required by CRRC-1
Program Manual for samples with high thermal resistance
 Design of Devices & Services
portable emissometer
• Device is heated internally to 82oC
• Sensing surfaces have
low-emittance (gold) and
high-emittance sectors
• Thermopile senses the
temperature difference between
high- & low- emittance sectors
• Thermopile output is proportional
to sample emittance; reaches 2.4
millivolts for ε = 0.9
• Calibration is by reference to
standards Sensor Face
 ASTM C1371: Standard test method for
determination of emittance of materials near room
temperature using portable emissometers

• Specifies use of Devices &

Services portable
emissometer
• Indirect technique—result
is in reference to low- and
high-emittance calibrated
standards
• Non-destructive—sample
is not significantly heated
C1371 is applicable only to
uninsulated metal panels
"Slide method" emittance measurement
using the portable emissometer

• For thermally “thick” samples with high thermal resistance, output

voltage tends toward a stable value, then starts to drift lower as
surface is heated by instrument
• Instead of waiting for ~ 90 sec, the measurement head is moved
every ~ 20 sec to a fresh part of the sample
• Minimizes undesired sample heating
• More consistent agreement among different laboratories
• Required by CRRC-1 Program Manual for all products other than
uninsulated metal
 Other techniques for measurement
of thermal emittance
(not CRRC-approved)

• ASTM E408: laboratory measurement of normal thermal

emittance using inspection-meter techniques (IR reflectance is
measured; subtracted from unity; Kirchhoff’s law)
• ASTM C835: laboratory measurement of hemispherical thermal
emittance (direct calorimetric technique)
 ASTM C835: Standard test method for total
hemispherical emittance of surfaces up to 1400°
C
• Laboratory technique for direct determination of thermal
emittance
– Heat sample to known temperature in vacuum
– Measure quantity of heat necessary to maintain temperature
– Ratio of heat loss to that of an ideal blackbody gives overall
emittance
– Does not require calibrated reference standards
• Standard is focused on high temperature measurements;
needs re-design for use near room temperature
Directional emittance
of selected materials
7. Measuring Color
 Colorimeter measurement
of color coordinates
• Specialized reflectance spectrometer
determines r(λ) in visible spectrum
• 0° incidence angle / 45° sensor angle
• Need to know source spectrum S(λ)
– example: D65 simulates the visible solar
spectrum with the sun overhead
• Need to specify the observer
– example: 10° is a standard observer
with a 10° field of view
• Instrument reports tristimulus color
coordinates—e.g., Hunter (L,a,b).
 Three cones – the eye’s color sensors

• S(λ) is source spectrum

• r(λ) is spectral reflectance
• Tristimulus values:
– X = ∫x(λ)S(λ)r(λ)dλ / ∫x(λ)S(λ)dλ
– Y = . . . y(λ) . . .
– Z = . . . z(λ) . . .
• X,Y, and Z = 1 if r(λ) ≡ 1
 Hunter (L, a, b) color measurement

•
•
•
Color difference ∆E is the Euclidian distance
between two colors

• ∆E = (∆a2 + ∆b2 + ∆L2) ½

• A distance of ∆E = 1 is just
barely visible
• An aside—coating
companies seem to prefer
the older Hunter (L, a, b)
system to the newer CIE
(L*, a*, b*) system