A fast integrated method for the measurement of the solar reflectance of building’s’ envelope components was developed. The method is based on the use of a solar simulator and two pyranometers setup in a wind tunnel of controllable environmental conditions. The geometry was calibrated by spectralon standards and its validity was tested by measurements comparison with the two standard methods of solar reflectance determination (ASTM standards E903 and E408). A very good agreement was found and the developed method was applied for typical building's envelope components like cements, marble, plaster, reflective paint and a specific NIR reflective compound of the form of calcium carbonate. Coupling of the technique with the monitoring of additional solar-matter interaction processes like phase changes extends its applicability as a precise, integrated and less time consuming method towards the characterization of “cool” materials.
Keywords. solar reflectance; “cool” materials; spectrophotometer; cooling buildings; energy savings
How to cite this article
Krimpalis, S., Vardoulakis, E. and Karamanis, D. (2014). 'Solar reflectance of building's envelope components'. SET Proceedings, 13, pp. 1-5. https://doi.org/10.65582/set.2014.038
