Designation: E1980 − 11

Standard Practice for

Calculating Solar Reflectance Index of Horizontal and Low-
Sloped Opaque Surfaces1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation E1980; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

INTRODUCTION

The steady-state surface temperature (Ts) under the sun is strongly correlated to solar reflectivity
and thermal emissivity of the surface. For equivalent conditions, the Ts of dark surfaces (with low solar
reflectance) is higher than light-colored surfaces (with high solar reflectance); and surfaces with low
thermal emissivity have higher Ts’s than surfaces with high thermal emissivity. The procedure
recommended in this standard will allow a direct comparison of Ts of surfaces under the sun. The
procedure defines a Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) that measures the relative Ts of a surface with
respect to the standard white (SRI = 100) and standard black (SRI =0) under the standard solar and
ambient conditions.

1. Scope 3.1.1 convective coeffıcient (hc)—the rate of heat transfer

1.1 This practice covers the calculation of the Solar Reflec- from the surface to air induced by the air movement, expressed
tance Index (SRI) of horizontal and low-sloped opaque sur- in watts per square metre per degree Kelvin, W·m–2·K–1.
faces at standard conditions. The method is intended to 3.1.2 low-sloped surfaces—surfaces with a slope smaller
calculate SRI for surfaces with emissivity greater than 0.1. than 9.5° from the horizontal.
1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as 3.1.3 reference black surface temperature (Tb) —is the
standard. No other units of measurement are included in this steady-state temperature of a black surface with solar reflec-
standard. tance of 0.05 and thermal emissivity of 0.9, under the standard
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the solar and ambient conditions.
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the 3.1.4 reference white surface temperature (Tw) —is the
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro- steady-state temperature of a white surface with solar reflec-
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica- tance of 0.80 and thermal emissivity of 0.9, under the standard
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use. solar and ambient conditions.
3.1.5 sky temperature (Tsky)—is the temperature of a black
2. Referenced Documents
body that would radiate the same power toward the earth as
2.1 ASTM Standards:2 does the sky.
G173 Tables for Reference Solar Spectral Irradiances: Direct
3.1.6 solar absorptance (α)—the fraction of solar flux ab-
Normal and Hemispherical on 37° Tilted Surface
sorbed by a surface. For an opaque surface α = 1 − a.
3. Terminology 3.1.7 solar flux (I)—is the direct and diffuse radiant power
3.1 Definitions: from the sun received at ground level over the solar spectrum,
expressed in watts per square metre, W·m–2 .
1
3.1.8 solar reflectance (a)—the fraction of solar flux re-
This test method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D08 on Roofing
and Waterproofing and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D08.18 on
flected by a surface.
Nonbituminous Organic Roof Coverings. 3.1.9 solar reflectance index (SRI)—is the relative Ts of a
Current edition approved Jan. 1, 2011. Published January 2011. Originally
published in 1998. Last previous edition approved in 2001 as E1980–01, which was
surface with respect to the standard white (SRI = 100) and
withdrawn in January 2010 and reinstated in January 2011. DOI: 10.1520/E1980-11. standard black (SRI = 0) under the standard solar and ambient
2
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or conditions.
contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM
Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on 3.1.10 solar spectrum—spectral distribution of typical ter-
the ASTM website. restrial sunlight at air mass 1.5 as defined in Tables G173.

Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United States

1
 E1980 − 11
3.1.11 standard solar and ambient conditions— for the where:
purpose of this calculation, is defined as a solar flux of 1000 ~ α 2 0.029ε ! ~ 8.7971h c !
W·m–2, ambient air temperature of 310 Kelvin (K), and sky χ5
9.5205ε1h c
(5)
temperature of 300 K. Three convective coefficient of 5, 12, 30
W·m–2·K–1 , corresponding to low- (0 to 2 ms–1), medium- (2 For α greater than 0.1, and excluding collector surfaces
to 6 ms–1), and high-wind (6 to 10 ms–1) conditions, respec- (surface with high solar absorptance and low thermal
tively. emittance, that is, α greater than 0.8 and ε less than 0.2), Eq 4
3.1.12 steady-state surface temperature (Ts) —is the tem- estimates SRI with an average error of 0.9 and maximum error
perature of the surface, in K, under the standard solar and of 2.
ambient conditions. 5. Significance and Use
3.1.13 thermal emissivity (ε)—the ratio of radiant flux emit- 5.1 Solar reflectance and thermal emittance are important
ted by a surface at a given temperature to that emitted by a factors affecting surface and near-surface ambient air tempera-
black body radiator at the same temperature. For this ture. Surfaces with low solar reflectance, absorb a high fraction
calculation, the thermal emissivity is for a temperature below of the incoming solar energy. A fraction of this absorbed energy
150°C. is conducted into ground and buildings, a fraction is convected
to air (leading to higher air temperatures), and a fraction is
4. Summary of Practice radiated to the sky. For equivalent conditions, the lower the
4.1 For a surface exposed to the sun, when the conduction emissivity of a surface the higher its steady-state temperature.
into the material is zero, the steady-state surface temperature is Surfaces with low emissivity cannot effectively radiate to the
obtained by: sky and, therefore, get hot. Determination of solar reflectance
αI 5 εσ ~ T s 4 2 T sky4 ! 1h c ~ T s 2 T a ! (1) and thermal emittance, and subsequent calculation of the
relative temperature of the surfaces with respect to black and
where: white reference temperature (defined as Solar Reflectance
α = solar absorptance = 1 − solar reflectance, Index, SRI), may help designers and consumers to choose the
I = solar flux, W·m–2, proper materials to make their buildings and communities
ε = thermal emissivity, energy efficient. The method described here gives the SRI of
σ = Stefan Boltzmann constant, 5.66961 × surfaces based on measured solar reflectances and thermal
10–8 W·m–2·K–4, emissivities of the surfaces.
Ts = steady-state surface temperature, K,
Tsky = sky temperature, K, 6. Procedure
hc = convective coefficient, W·m–2·K–1 , and
6.1 Given the solar reflectance and thermal emissivity of a
Ta = air temperature, K.
test surface, calculate the SRI for three convective coefficients
4.2 Given the solar reflectivity and thermal emissivity of a of 5, 12, 30 W·m–2·K–1 , corresponding to low-, medium-, and
surface, and the convective coefficient, Eq 1 needs to be solved high-wind conditions, respectively. The following alternate
iteratively for surface temperature. Alternatively, one can use approaches can be used to calculate SRI:
the following equation to obtain the surface temperature: 6.1.1 Approach I—Calculate the steady-state surface tem-
~ 1066.07α 2 31.98ε ! peratures for the test surface and black and white reference
T s 5 309.071 (2) surfaces. Either Eq 1 (with iterative approach) or Eq 2 can be
~ 6.78ε1h c !
used. Calculate the SRI from Eq 3.
~ 890.94α 2 12153.86αε ! 6.1.2 Approach II— Calculate SRI from Eq 4.
2
~ 6.78ε1h c ! 2
7. Report
Surface temperature estimated by Eq 2 is accurate within 1
K. 7.1 The report shall include the following:
7.1.1 The solar reflectance and the thermal emittance of the
4.3 In this practice, Solar Reflectance Index is defined as: test surface.
T b 2 Ts 7.1.2 The calculated SRI for three convective coefficients of
SRI 5 100
Tb 2 Tw
(3) 5, 12, 30 W·m–2·K–1 , corresponding to low-, medium-, and
high-wind conditions, respectively.
where: Tb and Tw are the steady-state temperature of black
and white surfaces. 8. Precision and Bias
Under the standard solar and ambient conditions, Eq 3 is 8.1 The SRI of a test surface varies with two material
regressed to: properties, solar reflectance and thermal emissivity, and four
SRI 5 123.97 2 141.35χ19.655χ 2 (4) environmental conditions, solar flux, convection coefficient, air

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 E1980 − 11
temperature, and sky temperature. A detailed sensitivity analy- result in a maximum error of 61.4 in SRI. Similarly, a 61 %
sis for the variation of SRI with respect to the above environ- error in ε will result in a maximum error of 60.6 in SRI.
mental conditions has been reported.3 The following is a 8.1.2 For non-metallic surfaces, SRI is insensitive to choice
summary of the results and may be used as a guideline for of convective coefficient.
practitioners. 8.1.3 For metallic surfaces that are characterized with low ε,
8.1.1 SRI is an excellent predictor of solar reflectance for the SRI calculated by the above procedure varies significantly
materials with high emissivity (ε > 0.8), that is, non-metals. with the choice of convection coefficient. Hence, the SRI
Under these conditions, a 61 % error in solar reflectance will should be reported for three convective coefficients corre-
sponding to low-, medium-, and high-wind conditions.
8.1.4 SRI is insensitive to choice of sky temperature,
ambient temperature, and solar flux.
3
Akbari, H., R. Levinson, and P. Berdahl, “ASTM Standards for Measuring
Solar Reflectance and Infrared Emittance of Construction Materials and Comparing 9. Keywords
their Steady-State Surface Temperatures,” Proceedings of the ACEEE 1996 Summer
Study on Energy Effıciency in Buildings, Vol. 1, p. 1, Pacific Grove, CA, August 9.1 solar flux; solar reflectance; solar reflectance index;
1996. thermal emittance

BIBLIOGRAPHY2

(1) ASTM E408 Test Methods for Total Normal Emittance of Sur- (3) ASTM E903 Test Method for Solar Absorptance, Reflectance, and
faces Using Inspection-Meter Techniques Transmittance of Materials Using Integrating Spheres
(2) ASTM E772 Terminology Relating to Solar Energy Conversion (4) ASTM E1918 Test Method for Measuring Solar Reflectance of
Horizontal and Low-Sloped Surfaces in the Field

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