The effect of the use of radiant barriers in building roofs on summer comfort conditions - A case study

• Autor(a) principal: Helena Corvacho
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Outros Autores: Miguel Ferreira
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://hdl.handle.net/10216/134032

A brief analysis on radiant barriers applied in building roofs, included in a wider study, is presented. A case study which involves experimental measurements carried out in a single-family house, located in a mild climate, specifically in the North of Portugal, where radiant barriers were applied and monitored is described. A computer program (CAPSOL) was also used to carry out a sensitivity analysis and to verify if the results pointed to conclusions similar to those of the experimental measurements. In the experimental part of this work, which took place in the summer periods of two consecutive years, two different roofs were monitored in the same house. Values of temperature, relative humidity, solar irradiance, heat fluxes among other parameters were measured. This article presents some of the collected data. In the numerical simulation, the comparison between the situation of the inclusion of a radiant barrier underneath the roof tiles and over the attic floor slab is presented and compared with another situation without this barrier. In general, it was concluded from this brief analysis that the application of a radiant barrier in the roof of a building proves to be advantageous, especially in what regards the attenuation of the maximum temperatures reached at the roof attic, thus mitigating the risk of overheating.