Characterisation of the air temperature field above large-footprint buildings – full-scale experiments and large eddy CFD simulations

The implementation of ‘cool’ roofing materials, with high solar reflectance and infrared emittance, has received significant attention in recent years, as a method to mitigate the urban heat island effect and reduce building cooling energy requirements. The effect of ‘cool’ roofs on heat transfer through the roof structure has been investigated by many researchers. However, the air temperature field above roofs and the influence of elevated above-roof air temperatures on the performance of rooftop air-conditioning equipment and photovoltaic panels have not been studied in depth.

Green, A., Paolini, R., Haddad, S., Cooper, P. & Santamouris, M. (2018). Characterisation of the air temperature field above large-footprint buildings – full-scale experiments and large eddy CFD simulations. Proceedings of the 11th Australasian Heat and Mass Transfer Conference (pp. 1-8).

The implementation of ‘cool’ roofing materials, with high solar reflectance and infrared emittance, has received significant attention in recent years, as a method to mitigate the urban heat island effect and reduce building cooling energy requirements. The effect of ‘cool’ roofs on heat transfer through the roof structure has been investigated by many researchers. However, the air temperature field above roofs and the influence of elevated above-roof air temperatures on the performance of rooftop air-conditioning equipment and photovoltaic panels have not been studied in depth.

Green, A., Paolini, R., Haddad, S., Cooper, P. & Santamouris, M. (2018). Characterisation of the air temperature field above large-footprint buildings – full-scale experiments and large eddy CFD simulations. Proceedings of the 11th Australasian Heat and Mass Transfer Conference (pp. 1-8).

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