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herm
mal Pro
opertties of
o Matterials
Eve
ery material use
ed in an
a envelope assembly has fun
ndamenttal physical
pro
operties that determin
d
ne their energyy performance like co
onductivvity,
ressistance, and therrmal masss. Unde
erstanding these intrinsic propertiies will help
h
you
u chose tthe rightt materia
als to ma
anage he
eat flows..
The
ermal Cond
ductivity (kk)
A materials
m
a
ability to conduct
c
h
heat.
Each materiall has a characteristicc rate at which
w
heatt will flow through it.
i The fastter heat flows
thro
ough a ma
aterial, the
e more con
nductive it is. Condu
uctivity (k
k) is a matterial prop
perty given
n for
hom
mogeneous solids un
nder steadyy state conditions.
It iss used in th
he follow equation:
whe
ere
q = the resultant heat flow (Watts))
k = the therm
mal conducttivity of the
e material (W/mK).
A = the surfacce area through whicch the heatt flows (m))
T = the temp
perature difference between
b
th
he warm an
nd cold sides of the material
m
(K)), and
L = the thickn
ness / lengtth of the material
m
(m))
Uniits for cond
ductivity
Imp
perial BT
TU*in/h ft F: In the
e Imperial system, co
onductivityy is the nu
umber of British
B
therrmal
2
unitts per hour (Btu/h) that flow th
hrough 1 square
s
foo
ot (ft ) of material
m
tha
at is 1 in. thick
t
when the
tem
mperature difference
d
across thatt material is
i 1F (und
der conditio
ons of stea
ady heat flo
ow).
SI - W/m C or W/m K:
K The Syste
em Interna
ational (SI) equivalen
nt is the nu
umber of watts
w
that flow
f
thro
ough 1 squ
uare meterr (m2) of material
m
tha
at is 1 m th
hick when the tempe
erature diffference across
thatt material iis 1 K (equal to 1C) under cond
ditions of steady
s
hea
at flow.
The
ermal Cond
ductance (C
C)
Con
nductivity
y per unit area
a
for a specified thickness.. Used for standard building materials..
In basic
b
build
ding materrials, heat flow
f
is usu
ually measured by co
onductancce (C), nott conductivity.
Con
nductance is a material's condu
uctivity perr unit area for the objject's thick
kness (in units
u
of W//mK
for metric and
d BTU/hrftt2F for Im
mperial).
Con
nductance is an obje
ect properrty and de
epends on both the material and
a
its thickness. Many
M
solid building materials such as co
ommon brick, wood siding, battt or board
d insulation
n, and gypsum
boa
ard are wid
dely availab
ble in standard thicknesses and
d compositions. For such comm
mon materrials,
it is useful to know the rate
r
of hea
at flow for that
t
standa
ard thickne
ess instead
d of the rate per inch..
U-F
Factor (U)
Ove
erall conductance of a buildin
ng elemen
nt. Used fo
or layered building assemblie
a
s.
In la
ayered assemblies, co
onductances are com
mbined into
o a single number
n
called the "U
U-factor" (o
or
U-fa
factor and cconductancce translatee conductivvity from a material property
p
to an object property.
p
som
metimes the U-value
e).
U iss the overa
all coefficie
ent of therrmal transm
mittance, expressed
e
i terms off Btu/h ft2 F (in SI units,
in
W/m
m2 K). Thiis is the same
s
unitt as condu
uctance because itss a measu
ure of the
e same th
hing:
con
nductance is used fo
or a speciffic materia
al, U-factorr is used for
f a speccific assem
mbly. Lowerr Ufacttors mean less condu
uction, whicch means better insu
ulation.
For instance, tthe overall U-factor of
o a window
w includess the condu
uctances of
o the glasss panes, the
e air
inside, the fframing material,
m
a
and
any other
o
matterials in their diffferent thicknesses and
loca
ations. Exxcept in special casses, the conductancces of the
e materialss cannot be added
d to
determine U-ffactor of th
he assembly.
The
e U-factor iis an overa
all coefficie
ent of heatt transfer, and
a includes the effe
ects of all elements
e
in
n an
asse
embly and
d all sensib
ble modes of heat tra
ansfer (con
nduction, convection
c
, and radia
ation), but not
late
ent heat tra
ansfer (moisture relatted).
The
e term U-fa
actor should be used
d only where heat flow is from air
a on the outside off the envelo
ope,
thro
ough the e
envelope assembly to
o air on the inside. It
I should not
n be used
d on basem
ment walls, for
example.
Specific Heat
High specific heat requires a lot of energy to change the temperature.
Specific heat is a measure of the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of given mass
of material by 1. In the Imperial system, this is expressed as Btu/lb F; in the SI system, it is
expressed as kJ/kg K. It takes less energy input to raise the temperature of a low-specific-heat
material than that of a high-specific-heat material.
For instance, one gram of water requires one calorie of heat energy to rise one degree Celsius in
temperature. Water has a high heat capacity and, therefore, is sometimes used as thermal mass in
buildings.
Material
Heat capacity
J/(gK)
Brick
0.84
Concrete
0.88
Granite
0.79
Gypsum
1.09
Soil
0.80
Wood
1.2-2.3
Water
4.2
As an
a example, if the su
un comes out
o from behind clou
uds and strrikes a building envellope with high
h
thermal capacity at 10A
AM, the exterior
e
surrface temp
perature will
w rise qu
uickly. It may
m be sevveral
hou
urs, howeve
er, before this
t
tempe
erature spike is seen
n at the insside surface of the wall. The rea
ason
is th
hat some h
heat is bein
ng stored in
i the wall material. This
T
heat iss stored in the wall material
m
un
ntil it
has absorbed
d as much
h as it can
n (saturate
ed). Heat will
w then flow
f
to th
he inside, based on the
con
nductivity o
of the mate
erial.
One
e example of a therm
mal lag on a large sca
ale is the fact
f
that th
he hottest months in most partts of
the northern h
hemispherre are July or
o August, even thou
ugh the strongest sun
n of the year is in Jun
ne.
Hea
at transmisssion and ra
adiation fro
om a window
Glazzing Prope
erties