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Measuring and accounting for solar gains in steady state whole building heat loss measurements

Stamp, SF; Altamirano, H; Lowe, R; (2017) Measuring and accounting for solar gains in steady state whole building heat loss measurements. Energy and Buildings , 153 pp. 168-178. 10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.06.063. Green open access

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Abstract

To ensure good thermal performance is delivered consistently and at scale, there is a need to measure and understand the as-built heat loss of dwellings. Co-heating is a steady state, linear regression method, used to measure whole building heat transfer coefficients. This paper assesses the uncertainties in such outdoor, in situ, measurements due to the presence and treatment of solar gains. Uncertainties relating to solar gains are explored through both a number of field test results and simulated co-heating tests. Results demonstrate the potential for fractions of solar gains received on one day to be re-emitted on subsequent days. This dynamic behaviour can lead the steady state analysis to underestimate heat loss. Furthermore, inappropriate measurements of on-site solar radiation are shown to lead to bias in heat loss measurements. In particular, horizontal on-site solar radiation measurements are shown to significantly overestimate heat loss in buildings experiencing high proportions of direct gains through vertical openings. Both forms of uncertainty are dependent upon both the environmental test conditions and the characteristics of a test dwelling. Highly glazed, low heat loss and heavyweight buildings prove to be the most susceptible to such uncertainties, which ultimately limit both when tests can be successfully performed and which buildings can be tested.

Type: Article
Title: Measuring and accounting for solar gains in steady state whole building heat loss measurements
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.06.063
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.06.063
Language: English
Additional information: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: Outdoor testing, Co-heating, Heat loss coefficient, Whole house heat loss, In situ measurements, Thermal performance, Performance gap, Uncertainty, Solar gains
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Bartlett School Env, Energy and Resources
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1570483
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