Combined effect of insulation and solar reflectance of roof on attic temperature

Abstract

The attic in a house can be utilized for storage space but the thermal condition may not be suitable for such usage. In order to keep temperature in attic within a moderate range, it is well known that improvement of insulation and solar reflectance of roof are very effective but the combined effect of roof insulation and solar reflectance has not been discussed. In this study, such combined effect is examined on the basis of measured data in full scale house models and results of numerical simulations. The simulated results show good correspondence to measured data and numerical simulations under various conditions are conducted. This paper also gives the charts in which appropriate insulation performance and solar reflectance of roof can be selected according to requirement for attic space.