VIII Semester B.Arch.

Lesson plan ARC 420 Energy conscious architecture

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
DEENBANDHU CHHOTU RAM UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
MURTHAL

TOPIC 5 PRINCIPLES OF THERMAL DESIGN

Thermal quantities
Temperature
 Temperature is actually not a physical quantity – it is the outward appearance of the
thermal state of a body.
 It is measured by the Celcius scale.
For example: Indoor temperature 22 °C
Outdoor temperature 4 °C
The temperature difference is 18 K (earlier unit was‘deg C’)
 In scientific work the Kelvin scale may be used, on which an interval of temperature
is same as on the Celcius scale, but the starting point- the zero-is the ‘absolute zero’,
which is -273.15 °C.
Heat
 Heat is 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).
 It is measured in Joules = Watt-second.
Other thermal quantities
 Specific heat of a substance is the amount of heat energy necessary to cause unit
temperature increase of a unit mass of substance. It is measured in J/kg K (earlier
unit was J/kg deg C)
Water has the highest specific heat 4187 J/kg K
 For gases often the volumetric specific heat is given in J/m3 K (earlier unit was
J/m3deg C)
The volumetric specific heat of air is about 1300 J/m3 K (varying with pressure and
humidity)
 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
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 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 physical principles and quantities involved in heat flow are given in
the following paragraphs:

1 Prof (Dr) Chitrarekha Kabre

 VIII Semester B.Arch. Lesson plan ARC 420 Energy conscious architecture
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
DEENBANDHU CHHOTU RAM UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
MURTHAL
Conductivity
 Thermal conductivity (or ‘k-value’) of a material 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.
 Unit of measurement – W/m K (or W/m deg C)
 Thermal resistivity (or ‘r-value’) is reciprocal of conductivity (1/k) m K/W (or m deg
C/W)
Conductance
 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 K (or
deg C)
 It is measured W/m2 K (or W/m2 deg C)
 Resistance is reciprocal of conductance
C= 1/R
 Resistance of a body is the product of its thickness and the resistivity of its material
R= b x 1/k = b/k (m2 K /W) or m2 deg C/W
Where b is the thickness in metres
Multi layered 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.
b1 b2 b3 b
 Total resistance Rb = R1 + R2 + R3… =   ...  
k1 k 2 k3 k
 Note that the conductances are not additive, only the resistances
1 1
C 
R b / k
 Note that the conductances are not additive, only the resistances
Surface resistance
 Surface or film resistance is a resistance offered by its surfaces, where a thin layer of
air film separates the body from the surrounding air.
 It is denoted as 1/f (m2 K/W) or (m2 deg C/W)
f being the surface or film-conductance (W/ m2 deg C)
 The magnitude of surface- or film-conductance (f) is a function of surface qualities
and of the velocity of air passing the surface.
Air-to-air resistance (R)
 If heat flow from air on one side, through the body, to air on the other side is
considered, both surfaces resistances must be taken into account
 The overall, air-to-air resistance (Ra) is the sum of the body’s resistance and the
surface resistances: m2 K/W
Rsi = 1/fi= internal surface resistance
Rb=resistance of the body
Rso = 1/fo= external surface resistance
1 1
Ra   Rb 
fi fo
Air-to-air transmittance (U-value) is the reciprocal of air-to-air resistance
1
U
Ra

2 Prof (Dr) Chitrarekha Kabre

 VIII Semester B.Arch. Lesson plan ARC 420 Energy conscious architecture
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
DEENBANDHU CHHOTU RAM UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
MURTHAL

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)
Example
 Calculation of U-value of simple construction
 An external wall consisting of 105 mm brickwork, 50 mm of unventilated cavity
containing 13mm of expanded polystyrene insulation, 100 mm lightweight concrete
block inner leaf finished with 13 mm of lightweight plaster.
Element Thickness Thermal Thermal
(m) conductivity resistance (m2
(w/m K) K/W)

Brick work 0.105 0.84 0.13

Expanded polystyrene 0.013 0.035 0.37

Lightweight concrete 0.100 0.19 0.53

block
Lightweight plaster 0.013 0.16 0.08

Outside surface resistance Rso = 0.06 m2 K/W

Inside surface resistance Rsi = 0.12 m2 K /W
Cavity resistance Rc = 0.18 m2 K/W

Source: MITOCW

3 Prof (Dr) Chitrarekha Kabre

 VIII Semester B.Arch. Lesson plan ARC 420 Energy conscious architecture
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
DEENBANDHU CHHOTU RAM UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
MURTHAL

Convection
 In convection, heat is transferred by the bodily movement of a carrying medium,
usually a gas or a liquid.
 The rate heat transfer by 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 m 3/s
› The specific heat of the carrying medium J/ kg K or J/m3 K
Radiation
 In radiation heat transfer the rate of heat flow depends on the temperature 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
 The coefficient of emittance (e) expresses how much of the available heat will be
emitted.
a =e
Sol-air temperature
 Sol-air temperature was first introduced by Mackey and Wright and later modified
by several researchers.
 A precise definition of sol-air temperature is “the equivalent outdoor temperature
that will cause the same rate of heat flow at the surface and the same temperature
distribution through the material, as results from the out-door air temperature and
the net radiation exchange between the surface and its environment”

Ig  a
Ts  To    I l
fo
Ts = sol-air temperature, in C
To = outside air temperature, in C
Ig = Total solar radiation (direct + diffuse) incident on the surface (W/m2)
fo =Outside film or surface conductance (W/m2 K)
 = emittance of surface, for low temperature radiation usually taken as 0.9 for
most building surfaces, but only 0.05 to 0.2 for low emittance surfaces such as
polished metals.
Il = net long wave radiation exchange between a black body at outside air
temperature and the outside environment (W/m2)
EXERCISES
1. What is “sol-air temperature”? How does this concept help to calculate heat gain
through a wall expose d to solar radiation?
2. Find U-values of wall and roof systems you would use in your school design
assignment.

4 Prof (Dr) Chitrarekha Kabre

 VIII Semester B.Arch. Lesson plan ARC 420 Energy conscious architecture
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
DEENBANDHU CHHOTU RAM UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
MURTHAL

TOPIC 6 MEANS OF THERMAL CONTROL

The objective of thermal controls
When cold discomfort conditions prevail:
a) to prevent heat loss
b) to utilise heat gain from the sun and internal sources
c) to compensate for any net loss, by heating which uses some form of energy supply
When hot discomfort conditions prevail:
a) to prevent heat gain
b) to maximise heat loss
to remove any excess heat by cooling, which uses some form of energy supply
When conditions vary diurnally between hot and cold discomfort:
a) to even out variations
b) (1) in the cold phase and (2) in the hot phase (as above)
c) to compensate for both excesses by a flexible heating-cooling system
Objectives listed under a and b in each group can be achieved by structural or constructional
(passive) means, item c in each group is the task of mechanical or energy-based (active)
controls.
Periodic heat flow
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. The
diagram shows the diurnal variations of external and internal temperatures in a periodically
changing thermal regime. The two quantities characterizing the periodic change are the
time-lag (or phase shift Ø) and the decrement factor (or amplitude attenuation, denoted µ).
The latter is the ratio of the maximum outer and inner surface temperature amplitudes
taken from the daily mean.
Source: Koenigsberger et al (1975)
Degree of control
The extremities of climatic variations can be
attenuated by such means.
 The environment immediately outside
and between buildings can be influenced by
the design of a settlement (micro climate
control) and by the grouping of buildings to a
minor extent.
 Structural (passive) means of control
can provide a further leveling out of the

5 Prof (Dr) Chitrarekha Kabre

VIII Semester B.Arch. Lesson plan ARC 420 Energy conscious architecture
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
DEENBANDHU CHHOTU RAM UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
MURTHAL
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, 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.
Need for structural control
Victor Olgyay (1963) “Design with Climate, bioclimatic approach to architectural
regionalism”, Princeton University Press.
“We do not expect to solve the problems of uncomfortable conditions by natural
means only. The environmental elements aiding us have their limits. But it is
expected that the architect should build the shelter in such a way as to bring out
the best of the natural possibilities.”
The task of environmental control to ensure the best possible indoor thermal conditions
by relying on structural (passive) controls, which may obviate the need for any
mechanical (active) controls, but even if mechanical controls do have to be resorted to.
their task will thereby be reduced to a minimum.
Thermal insulation: insulation means the control of heat flow, for which three
different mechanisms can be distinguished.
1 • Reflective insulation
2 • Resistive insulation
3 • Capacitive insulation
 Reflective insulation: where the heat transfer is primarily radiant, such as across a
cavity or through an attic space; the emittance of the warmer surface and the
absorptance of the receiving surface determine the heat flow.
 A shiny aluminium foil has both a low emittance and a low absorptance, it is
therefore a good reflective insulator. It will be effective only if it is facing a cavity, so
it does not itself have an R-value, but it modifies the R-value of the cavity.
 For example, a cavity, at least 25mm wide, in a wall would have the following
resistances:
– with ordinary building materials 0.18m2K/W
– if one surface is lined with foil 0.35
– if both surfaces are lined with foil 0.6
 A reflective surface in contact with another material would have no effect, as heat
flow would take place by conduction.
 Resistive insulation: A construction with a low U-value (air-to-air transmittance) will
reduce all forms of conduction heat transfer through the building envelope.
 Large temperature difference would cause large conduction heat flow
 Small temperature difference would cause small conduction heat flow
 Heat gain situation, with strong solar radiation, it is the sol-air temperature value
must be used to find the temperature difference acting as a motive force for heat
flow.

6 Prof (Dr) Chitrarekha Kabre

VIII Semester B.Arch. Lesson plan ARC 420 Energy conscious architecture
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
DEENBANDHU CHHOTU RAM UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
MURTHAL

Thermal capacity
 Capacitive insulation: Under
conditions with large diurnal temperature
variations the significance of thermal
capacity will be much greater than of
insulation. Here we can set the question:
‘How much thermal capacity, what length of
time-lag, is desirable?’ A point often
overlooked is that the thermal capacity can
be too much, the time-lag can be too long.
For example, a wall facing east receives its
maximum heating at 10.00 hours. A time-lag
of 10 hours would put the inside surface
temperature maximum at 20.00 hours, when
it is likely to be too hot anyway and the
occupants may want to sleep but cannot.
 The question can be answered by
drawing a graph of the out-door (sol-air)
temperature variations for each wall and
establishing from this at what time will the
maximum indoor heating effect be required
or tolerated. Figure shows an example of
such a graph and explains the reasoning for the selection of an appropriate time-lag.

7 Prof (Dr) Chitrarekha Kabre