Assessing thermal performance: An experimental study on U-value variability in building fabric elements

In order to achieve energy savings in existing buildings, there is an increasing need for energy audits and performance checks. In this regard, estimating a building's U-value is crucial, and there are a variety of methods available for achieving this. Heat flow meters can be used to measure U-...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: H Alkhatib, P Lemarchand
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:Results in Engineering
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259012302401973X
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Summary:In order to achieve energy savings in existing buildings, there is an increasing need for energy audits and performance checks. In this regard, estimating a building's U-value is crucial, and there are a variety of methods available for achieving this. Heat flow meters can be used to measure U-value in situ. This research reports on an experimental campaign that evaluated the insulation and performance of the fabric elements of a building located in Dublin, Ireland. The experimental study conducted on the ''Block F'' building provided insights into the building's thermal performance by measuring the U-value of various windows and walls across different locations and floors. The average heat loss coefficient for windows was approximately 1.74 W/(m²K) before data cleaning and 1.99 W/(m²K) after cleaning, while walls had an average of 0.90 W/(m²K) before cleaning and 1.07 W/(m²K) after cleaning. The findings revealed that similar types of windows and wall components exhibited significantly different U-values. The study identified several challenges contributing to the variability in U-value readings within the same building.
ISSN:2590-1230