Heat Transfer Coefficient of a Building: A Constant with Limited Variability or Dynamically Variable?

Ljubomir Jankovic (), Grant Henshaw, Christopher Tsang, Xinyi Zhang, Richard Fitton and William Swan
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Ljubomir Jankovic: Energy House Labs, University of Salford, Manchester M5 4WT, UK
Grant Henshaw: Energy House Labs, University of Salford, Manchester M5 4WT, UK
Christopher Tsang: Energy House Labs, University of Salford, Manchester M5 4WT, UK
Xinyi Zhang: Energy House Labs, University of Salford, Manchester M5 4WT, UK
Richard Fitton: Energy House Labs, University of Salford, Manchester M5 4WT, UK
William Swan: Energy House Labs, University of Salford, Manchester M5 4WT, UK

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 9, 1-26

Abstract: The heat transfer coefficient, or the HTC, is an industry-standard indicator of building energy performance. It is predicated on an assumption that it is of a constant value, and several different methods have been developed to measure and calculate the HTC as a constant. Whilst there are limited variations in the results obtained from these different methods, none of these methods consider a possibility that the HTC could be dynamically variable. Our experimental work shows that the HTC is not a constant. The experimental evidence based on our environmental chambers, which contain detached houses and in which the ambient air temperature can be controlled between −24 °C and +51 °C, with additional relative humidity control and with weather rigs that can introduce solar radiation, rain, and snow, shows that the HTC is dynamically variable. The analysis of data from the fully instrumented and monitored houses in combination with calibrated simulation models and data processing scripts based on genetic algorithm optimization provide experimental evidence of the dynamic variability of the HTC. This research increases the understanding of buildings physics properties and has the potential to change the way the heat transfer coefficient is used in building performance analysis.

Keywords: heat transfer coefficient (HTC); thermal diffusivity; time constant; energy performance; dynamic variability; experimental evidence; building physics; environmental chambers; genetic algorithm; machine learning; simulation models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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