Building Façades’ Visual Reflectance and Surface Temperatures: A Field Study

AbstractThe surface properties of building façades have implications for thermal performance of buildings and might also influence outdoor thermal comfort conditions for pedestrians. A façade surface property, which is frequently used by building engineers and specially architects, is the visual reflectance. In this paper, we present the result of a field study, which explores the relationship between the visual reflectance of building façades and the corresponding surface temperatures. A number of buildings with diverse façade colours were selected. Surface temperatures, incident solar irradiance, façades’ visual reflectance, as well as ambient air temperature and relative humidity were measured. The results of the field study display non-random relationships between the building façades’ visual reflectance and their surface temperatures