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Enhancement of thermal performance of domestic roofing systems for tropical climates

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Abstract
In the tropics in general and in the Caribean in particular, domestic low cost housing consists primarily of single story structures. In these houses the roof typically consists of corrugated galvanized sheet metal with or without a ceiling. the roof, because of its orientation to the high altitute tropical sun, has been identified as the building element that receives the greatest portion of the direct incident solar radiation. However, its generally poor thermal design leads to heat stress conditions in the occupied space. There is, therefore, an urgent need to provide low cost strategies for thermal performance enhancement to alleviate this heat stess problem. This paper presents the design details of the outdoor testing system used and the results of comparative testing of aluminum foil and aluminum paint with regard to their effectiveness as radiant barriers. Experimental results showed that the low cost aluminum paint, although not as effective as aluminum foil, does have enhancing effects on the thermal performance of the roof assembly system.
Date
12/1992
Author(s)
G Kochhar; R Osborne; E Lewis
Page(s)
429-439
Keyword(s)
thermal performance; tropical climate; radiant barrier; aluminum;


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