Influence of ICHTC correlations on the thermal characterization of façades using the quantitative internal infrared thermography method

Abstract

The thermal characterization of façades of the existing building stock is essential to establish optimal energy conservation measures. There are different methods to characterize thermal properties of façades. The quantitative internal infrared thermography method is among those most developed. Given the existing differences in the scientific literature among the proposals of the method, this study analysed the influence of the internal convective heat transfer coefficient (ICHTC). In total, 25 correlations of temperature differences (temperature of the wall and internal air temperature) were analysed, as well as 20 correlations of dimensionless numbers. To do this, an experimental campaign was performed in 3 façades belonging to the most representative building periods of the building stock in Spain. First, a cluster analysis was carried out to determine similarities among the equations analysed, using the Ward method as an agglomerative hierarchical method and the Euclidean distance as an association measurement. In total, 12 and 8 groups were obtained for correlations of temperature difference and of dimensionless numbers, respectively. Afterwards, results associated with each approach were obtained. These results showed that a better adjustment was obtained for correlations of dimensionless numbers by using the approach of convection and radiation, with an average value of representative results higher than 80%.