Building Surface Temperature Research Articles

Methods to mitigate the impact of work environment on the measurement of building surface temperature by unmanned aerial vehicle onboard thermal imaging system

With the widespread adoption of UAVs and compact infrared cameras, UAV infrared remote sensing technology has extensive applications in qualitative research fields such as finding thermal bridges and air tightness detection in construction projects, but less in quantitative research, mainly due to its large temperature measurement error. When measuring temperature with UAV-mounted thermal imaging cameras, factors such as operational wind conditions and operation methods, in addition to the inherent accuracy of the instrument, can introduce measurement errors. To investigate the impact of operational wind conditions on temperature measurements by UAV-mounted thermal imaging cameras, both field and laboratory experiments were conducted to analyze the error characteristics caused by wind conditions. Devices were designed to mitigate the impact of wind on temperature measurements, and their effectiveness was validated through experiments. Based on these findings, methods were developed for reducing the influence of wind conditions on temperature measurements in UAV operations. The results indicate that wind condition errors primarily affect the stability of temperature data. Under the influence of wind conditions, the temperature data recorded by thermal infrared cameras exhibit periodic and significant fluctuations, with a temperature difference of approximately 4.7 °C between the highest and lowest points within a single cycle, constituting the main source of measurement error. However, by following the prescribed measurement procedures, the temperature measurement error can be reduced by 32 %, from ±5 °C to ±1.6 °C, approaching the accuracy of tripod-mounted thermal imaging cameras. This establishes a foundation for quantitative research in low-altitude infrared remote sensing.

Optimization of temperature prediction algorithms and simulation of future neighborhood-scale thermal environments in Chongqing

With climate change and urbanization, predicting the outdoor thermal environment of residential areas has become increasingly crucial, particularly during extreme weather conditions. Existing studies lack a comprehensive approach to optimizing temperature prediction algorithms for Chongqing and simulating extreme thermal environments at the neighborhood scale for future decades. This study employed various algorithms, including Levenberg-Marquardt optimization, Monte Carlo simulation, ARIMA modeling, and SARIMA prediction, to simulate and forecast temperature data for the central urban area of Chongqing from 2014 to 2023. By assessing metrics such as root mean square error (RMSE), R-squared (R2), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), the most effective prediction algorithm was identified. Results indicate that the Levenberg-Marquardt optimization algorithm, known for its nonlinear curve fitting capabilities, demonstrated superior performance in both the test and training sets, achieving an RMSE of 0.82 °C, MAPE of 1.81 %, and R2 of 0.75. This algorithm was subsequently used to forecast the outdoor temperature trend in Chongqing from 2024 to 2050, while also simulating the outdoor wind field, temperature distribution, building surface temperatures, and wind speeds in a residential district at neighborhood scale for 2030, 2040, and 2050 at a building density of 40 %. Findings reveal that peak pedestrian-level temperatures could reach 45.62 °C, and peak roof surface temperatures could reach 93.93 °C under extreme conditions. Furthermore, the study proposes practical recommendations for building layouts and cooling strategies. These findings are expected to improve residential planning in Chongqing, enhance residents' quality of life, and provide insights for other regions facing future temperature changes.

Developing a Chained Simulation Method for Quantifying Cooling Energy in Buildings Affected by the Microclimate of Avenue Trees

This paper introduces a methodology aimed at bridging the gap between building energy simulation and urban climate modeling. A coupling method was developed through the Building Control Virtual Test Bed (BCVTB) and applied to a case study in Taipei City, Taiwan, to address the microclimate factors of street trees crucial to cooling energy consumption. The use of the Urban Weather Generator for weather file modification revealed a 0.63 °C average air temperature disparity. The coupling method emphasized the importance of accurate wind speed and convective heat transfer coefficients (CHTCs) on building surfaces in determining cooling energy. The results indicated that elevated CHTC values amplify heat exchange, with higher wind velocities playing a crucial role in heat dissipation. The presence of street trees was found to significantly reduce heat flux penetration, leading to a reduction in building surface temperatures by as much as 9.5% during hot months. The cooling energy was lowered by 16.7% in the BCVTB simulations that included trees compared to those without trees. The EnergyPlus-only simulations underestimated the cooling energy needs by approximately 9.3% during summer months. This research offers valuable insights into the complex interactions between buildings and their environments. The results highlight the importance of trees and shading in mitigating the heat island effect and improving energy-efficient urban planning.

Study on the contributions of 2D and 3D urban morphologies to the thermal environment under local climate zones

With the changes in global climate and rapid urbanization, identifying the contribution of urban morphology to the thermal environment under different scenarios could be helpful in proposing differentiated optimization responses of different scenarios for improving the thermal environment by means of natural cooling. This study calculated 2D and 3D metrics and retrieved surface temperature based on building vector data, land use, electronic map, the remote sensing images. Then, the study of spatial scale sensitivity was developed to build a nested multi-scale Local Climate Zone (LCZ) (NMSLCZ) map. Finally, the eXtreme Gradient Boost (XGBoost) regression model was performed to explore the relative contributions of 2D and 3D morphologies of different LCZ scenarios to surface temperatures. The results of scale sensitivity analysis showed the size of the optimal spatial scale decreased with the increase in building height. The 3D morphologies show more significant effects on LST variations than 2D morphologies. The surface temperature mainly by built type is significantly higher than that mainly by land cover type. Scenarios representing dense trees, shrubs, low vegetation, and water have significant cooling effects. In the scenarios of built types, the surface temperature of compact and large low-rise buildings is higher than that of the other building forms. Our findings provide a new perspective for LCZ mapping of scale optimization of the thermal environment. Meanwhile, the contributions of 2D and 3D morphologies on LSTs could help urban planners and managers understand the impacts of climate change and propose relevant strategies toward sustainable cities.

Effects of envelope features on building surface temperature and ventilation performance in 2D street canyons

The focus of previous research on urban ventilation has primarily been on flat-facade buildings. However, envelope features can affect the surface temperature and ventilation performance. We conducted an outdoor scaled experiment to investigate the impact of different envelope features on the thermal and wind environment in street canyons. The envelope features effectively reduce the surface temperature, with the impact order being as follows: overhangs > wing walls > balconies. The dimensionless parameter B is used to assess the impacts of momentum and buoyancy on urban ventilation. In a wide canyon, when B < Bc (the critical value of different envelope feature cases), the momentum dominates urban airflow. The Bc values of the flat-façade, balcony, overhang, and wing wall were 0.335, 1.084, 1.320, and 1.529, respectively, while the normalized horizontal velocities (U0.25H/U2H) of the flat-façade, balcony, overhang, and wing wall street canyons remained relatively constant (i.e., 0.66, 0.54, 0.62, and 0.57, respectively). When B > Bc, under the combined influence of momentum and buoyancy, U0.25H/U2H increases nonlinearly with B. Moreover, street canyons with envelope features exhibit a smaller Bc value than flat-facade canyons. These findings provide valuable insights into the effects of envelope features on thermal environments and urban ventilation.

An experimental study of the effects of using cool materials at different building heights on the indoor and outdoor environment

Four building arrays, each comprising 25 building models, were utilized to investigate the effects of cool materials on building surface temperatures, indoor temperatures, and street microclimates in Guangzhou, China. The experiments are divided into three groups. The first group of the experimental models is used to investigate the cooling effect of the roof using cool materials on the roof surface and indoor environment. The results show that using cool materials on roofs can significantly reduce roof surface and indoor temperatures of the top floor by 13.5 °C and 3.9 °C at noon under an average global solar radiation (GSR) of 727 W/m2. The second group of experiments included four arrays: one control group without cool materials and three other arrays applying cool materials on the third, second, and first floors, respectively. Using cool materials on the façades of the third, second, and first floors reduced the indoor temperature by an average of 1.9 °C, 0.8 °C, and 0.5 °C (average GSR = 404 W/m2), respectively. As a result, higher floors receive more solar radiation, and cool materials show better cooling capacity. The third group is used to investigate the effect on street air temperatures when cool materials are used on all building façades. Overall, the effect of cool materials on the street air temperature is very small, with a maximum reduction of only 0.2 °C in the street air temperature.

When Trees Are Not an Option: Perennial Vines as a Complementary Strategy for Mitigating the Summer Warming of an Urban Microclimate

This study evaluates the potential of Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) to reduce building surface temperature in a mid-latitude North American city center where vine use for this purpose is uncommon. Vegetation can regulate city summer temperatures by providing shade and evaporative cooling. While planting trees has been a focus for many urban municipalities, trees require space (above and below ground), access to water, costly planting and maintenance, and may only be desirable to some city residents. To explore viable vegetation alternatives with fewer growth constraints, we deployed temperature loggers on the exterior walls of buildings in the urban core of Toronto, Canada, a large mid-latitude city. Perennial vines shaded some walls, while others were bare. These devices systematically tracked exterior surface temperature fluctuations over six months, including the growing season, with full vine-leaf coverage. During peak solar access periods, average daily temperature differentials between vine-shaded and non-shaded building surfaces ranged from up to 6.5 °C on south-facing building exteriors to 7.0 °C on west-facing walls. Models were developed to estimate daily degree hour difference, a metric integrating the magnitude and duration of the temperature-moderating potential of vines. At ambient temperatures ≥ 23 °C, solar radiation intensity and ambient air temperature were positively correlated with vine effectiveness in mitigating the rise in built surface temperature; relative humidity was negatively associated. Installing vine cover on urban buildings in the form of green façades can complement tree planting as cities become hotter due to climate change, and space for growing trees diminishes with urban densification. Future research into the capacity of green façades to regulate outdoor temperature must establish uniform measurement protocols and undertake evaluations in diverse climatic scenarios.

Cost-effective pearlescent pigments with high near-infrared reflectance and outstanding energy-saving ability for mitigating urban heat island effect

Cooling down the surface temperature of buildings and saving energy consumption are tasks of top priority in mitigating the urban heat island (UHI) effect. The bright and colorful pearlescent pigmented cool coatings with high near-infrared (NIR) reflectance possess promise in enhancing the reflective effect of solar light and the visual aspect, which is still an undeveloped domain. Herein, these novel solar reflective coatings containing mediums and pearlescent pigments with high NIR reflectance of 85% embodied obvious energy-saving effects on building materials. EnergyPlus software was used to simulate the energy-saving effect of four applied climate zones, including New York, Nanchang, Lima, and Brasilia. Compared to commercial pigments (Fe2O3, γ-Ce2S3) with similar colors, the RK 402 and RK 301 pearlescent pigments demonstrate superior energy-saving capabilities in Nanchang climate zone, and can save 1.00 kW h m−2 and 1.60 kW h m−2 annually, respectively. In the warmer climate zone of Brasilia, the highest energy-saving efficiency is 2.06 kW h m−2 over one year by RK 301 pearlescent pigment. After irradiated by an NIR lamp, the surface temperature of the RK 301 coating can be reduced by 34.8 °C compared with that of the Fe2O3 commercial coating, and that of RK 402 coating is 5.2 °C compared with the γ-Ce2S3 commercial coating. Furthermore, the 7-day field test also has consistent effect of cooling down the surface temperature. This work demonstrated that pearlescent coatings with brilliant colors have great potential for application as cold materials in building areas to mitigate the UHI effect.

The effect of building surface cool and super cool materials on microclimate in typical residential neighborhoods in Nanjing

The application of cool materials in cities inevitably has an impact on the urban microclimate, but there is a lack of such studies. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of cool and super cool materials on building surface temperature, pedestrian-level pollutants, and neighborhood ventilation capacity using the CFD simulation method based on six typical residential neighborhoods in Nanjing, China. The results show that the cooling effect of the cool and super cool material on the building surface of slab morphology is greater than that of the building surface of point morphology at noon due to the buildings of slab morphology having a larger area of the south façade to reflect more solar radiation. The highest reduction in roof temperature is 10.7 °C and 13.4 °C for cool and super cool materials in summer. In addition, residential neighborhood with slab-parallel arrangement has the highest pedestrian-level pollutant concentrations regardless of building surface material. The effect of cool and super cool materials on the residential neighborhood's microclimate is small, less than 6% in summer and winter. In short, cool materials have a greater impact on the heat gain of buildings and can contribute to building energy efficiency in summer.

Modeling the hygrothermal behavior of green walls in Comsol Multiphysics®: Validation against measurements in a climate chamber

Green walls (GW) can diminish building's surface temperature through shading, insulation, and evapotranspiration mechanisms. These can be analyzed by computer models that account for heat and mass transfer phenomena. However, most previous models were one-dimensional thermal simulations in which boundary conditions (BC), like convective moisture transport, were not or only partly considered. The present work proposes a more comprehensive way to predict GW's hygrothermal behavior by integrating a 3D multiphysics model that couples heat and moisture transport in Comsol Multiphysics®. The air cavity that usually separates the GW from the building was also considered. Heat sink terms were added to represent plants' transpiration and substrates' evaporation, considering the leaf area density (LAD) and substrate's water saturation (Sr). The model was validated against experiments where four green wall-test panels (GW-TPs) were evaluated in a climate chamber under steady-state conditions. This provides a much sounder approach for validation than what currently exists (r = 0.97; RMSE = 0.33 °C). The four GW-TPs decreased the masonry's surface temperature in the range of 0.89–1.14 °C (0.97 ± 0.11 SD °C). The average contribution of the evapotranspiration effect was 30%, whereas the contribution of the air cavity was 60.7 ± 0.09%. The temperature at the substrate's rear was reduced on average by 0.57 ± 0.15 SD °C. When solar radiation was considered as a BC, the GW-TPs decreased the building's surface temperature by 10 °C. Lastly, high values of LAD and Sr translated into increased temperature reduction values.

Nature-Based Solutions for Cooling in High-Density Neighbourhoods in Shenzhen: A Case Study of Baishizhou

These days, high-density cities are facing growing challenges related to the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Greening can be a nature-based solution for UHI effect mitigation. This study aims to evaluate the potential of nature-based solutions to improve the urban living environments in Baishizhou, a high-density neighbourhood in Shenzhen. An integrated 3D visualisation research method was proposed in this study. Rhino 7, Grasshopper, and ENVI-met software were combined to evaluate environment characteristics before and after design, as well as compare differences in the outdoor thermal comfort index and the building surface temperature. The greening design scenarios include adding trees, green roofs, and green facades. The simulations ran for 24 h during the test period from 01:00 to 24:00 on 9 August 2019, which was the hottest day in Shenzhen. Baishizhou was selected as the test area for this study and environmental simulation. Results indicated that (1) vegetation has a positive cooling effect, providing outdoor thermal comfort, while shade “trees” provide significant cooling effects on hot days in tropical and subtropical climates; (2) adding green roofs and green facades to a building can significantly affect the cooling effect.

ESMUST: EnergyPlus-driven surrogate model for urban surface temperature prediction

This research presents a new urban surface temperature prediction model called the EnergyPlus-driven surrogate model for urban surface temperature (ESMUST). Estimating the urban landscape and building surface temperature is the main challenge for 3D urban structures, especially given the challenge of preparing thousands of specific inputs for the simulations. This research conducted feature engineering to identify informative input features that are mostly related to urban surface temperature sensitivity, and then generated synthetic data using EnergyPlus simulations. ESMUST was built using artificial neural networks with 42 million entries of a synthetic dataset and thirteen input features. During the validation process, ESMUST achieved 0.964% bias and efficiently predicted the surface temperature of 3D urban models with fewer inputs. The main contribution of ESMUST is the development of a surrogate model to predict 3D urban surface temperature with fewer input features and less modeling complexity. This process has great potential to save building energy and improve the outdoor thermal environment in the context of climate change. Moreover, the framework developed for ESMUST is expected to be further applied in the future to evaluate nature-based solutions such as green façades for urban comfort and sustainability.

The energy-efficient design of sustainable green roofs in Mediterranean climate: An experimental study

Green roofs were proposed to broaden nature-based solutions within the perspective of the ecological transition for the built environment. In this paper, an innovative and sustainable green roof was designed to optimize the energy performance in Mediterranean area during summer season by means of local-available and recycled materials, thus reducing the environmental impacts. This new green roof technology consisted of recycled polyethylene granules from the regeneration of disused agricultural plastic films as drainage layer and a substrate made of local-sourced materials with high percentage of organic matter and it was compared to two traditional green roofs and to the existing roof. The energy-efficient design was based on the thermo-physical parameters of the green roof (surface temperatures, heat flows and volumetric water content) and of the building (surface temperature of the ceiling) and on the thermal dynamic parameters (decrement factor, time lag and cooling potential). In addition, these thermo-physical parameters were correlated to the Mediterranean climate during summer season. The result demonstrated that although the proposed green roof reached higher surface temperatures than commercial solutions, it maintained an almost constant volumetric water content, it reduced daily fluctuations between minimum and maximum temperatures, it resulted in lower thermal flow through the cross-section, it reduced the surface temperatures inside the building by about 2 °C compared to the traditional roof, thus decreasing the energy consumption for building cooling and greenhouse gas emissions, and it had better dynamic thermal performance than commercial green roofs. Once the energy-efficient design of the proposed green roof technology was proved, the sustainability and the life cycle performance of the recycled polyethylene was discussed, also considering the costs.

RETRACTED: The effect of green belt as an environmentally friendly approach on energy consumption reduction in buildings

The practice of urban landscaping has many positive effects, both on the environment and the local economy. By shading buildings, absorbing sunlight, reducing UV light, cooling the air, and decreasing wind speed, these advantages include a reduction in indoor temperature. In the present study, tree planting patterns as a green belt surrounding an office building (Pematangsiantar Road Administration building) have been explored in an effort to reduce energy consumption. For this objective, three potential tree planting layouts at a distance of 10 m from the structure were examined. The cuckoo search method was used to identify 21 ideal planting situations out of 1020 possibilities. The tree was modeled using quantitative parameters of the Yackandandah species, including crown diameter, height, and trunk diameter. To validate the results, the temperature and relative humidity diagrams from the simulated building were compared with the actual data from the heat and humidity sensors. The results demonstrated that there is a substantial difference in building energy usage across different arboricultural models and instances. Compared to directed models, simultaneous tree planting in all directions of the building led to the lowest energy use. This phenomena can reduce the surface temperature of buildings and the need for cooling energy by up to 16 percent during warm seasons. According on the findings of an annual energy audit, annual energy savings could range between $400 and $1100.

An experimental investigation on passive and hybrid roof cooling systems with a double skin envelope

ABSTRACT Indoor air temperatures and energy consumption of residential building is increasing at an alarming rate. The design and development of passive and hybrid roof cooling systems with effective cooling techniques play a vital role in improving the thermal performance especially in arid regions. This study investigates the energy efficiency of five laboratory models of double skin passive and hybrid roof cooling systems. A comparative study on the thermal performance of these five systems reveals a highest 14.5°C (41%) and 69oC (79%) reduction in the room and roof surface temperature with double skinned evaporative cooling roof system with forced convection. Similarly, significant reduction in room air and roof surface temperatures are also observed with the other types of double skin passive and hybrid roof cooling systems in comparison with the reference system. The studies have conclusively proven that the double skin passive and hybrid roof cooling systems can appreciably reduce the indoor air and roof surface temperature of residential and commercial buildings. Abbreviations RM: Reference Model; SAV: Standard air ventilated; CAV: Composite insulator air ventilated; FAV: Cooling fan air ventilated; EAV: Evaporative cooling air ventilated; ERAV: Evaporative cooling with radiation reflector Air ventilated

Retrofitting solutions for a campus building to mitigate urban heat island in a hot humid climate

In this study we examine the summer cooling effects of trees and green facades on reducing urban heat island effects. Using ENVI-met model simulations, we investigate the influence of added greenery on the surface and ambient air temperature and its role on air fluctuations in the hot humid climate of Austin, TX, at pedestrian height. Under the specific conditions considered in this model, the results show the combination of trees and green facades has a greater cooling effect. Added greenery to the building mostly impacts the building's surface temperature during the hottest hours of the day, registering a maximum surface temperature reduction of 20.33°C. Simulations also show a maximum overall potential air temperature reduction of 0.54°C, and a maximum potential air temperature cooling effect near the building of 0.91°C. Future research should be conducted to address this study's limitations. Nevertheless, these findings can provide architects, designers, planners, and policymakers with a better understanding of the many benefits trees and green facades have, and provide them with the necessary tools to implement new solutions across sectors and scales to reduce the impacts urban areas have on the environment and provide a better living for all.

3D characterization of a Boston Ivy double-skin green building facade using a LiDAR system

On the way to more sustainable and resilient urban environments, the incorporation of urban green infrastructure (UGI) systems, such as green roofs and vertical greening systems, must be encouraged. Unfortunately, given their variable nature, these nature-based systems are difficult to geometrically characterize, and therefore there is a lack of 3D objects that adequately reflect their geometry and analytical properties to be used in design processes based on Building Information Modelling (BIM) technologies. This fact can be a disadvantage, during the building's design phase, of UGIs over traditional grey solutions. Areas of knowledge such as precision agriculture, have developed technologies and methodologies that characterize the geometry of vegetation using point cloud capture. The main aim of this research was to create the 3D characterization of an experimental double-skin green facade, using LiDAR technologies.From the results it could be confirmed that the methodology used was precise and robust, enabling the 3D reconstruction of the green facade's outer envelope. Detailed results were that foliage volume differences in height were linked to plant growth, whereas differences in the horizontal distribution of greenery were related to the influence of the local microclimate and specific plant diseases on the south orientation. From this research, along with complementary previous research, it could be concluded that, generally speaking, with vegetation volumes of 0.2 m3/m2, using Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus Tricuspidata) under Mediterranean climate, reductions in external building surface temperatures of around 13 °C can be obtained and used as analytic parameter in a future 3D-BIM-object.

Exploring the effects of the spatial arrangement and leaf area density of trees on building wall temperature

As single urban landscape elements, buildings and trees have important impacts on the urban microthermal environment. Thus, the interaction between trees and buildings requires more thorough investigation. In this study, typical residential districts in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China, are selected as the research area, and different evaluation indexes are established to explore the influence of trees on building surface temperature. ENVI-met simulations of the different established scenarios based on the spatial configuration analysis of buildings and trees in the study area were performed to determine the influence of the distance between individual trees, the distance between trees and walls (spatial position) and the leaf area density (LAD) value (attribute) of trees on the surface temperature of buildings. The results showed that 1) the best wall cooling times in the east, west, south and north were 12:00, 17:00, 14:00 and 16:00, respectively; 2) the best cooling effect was achieved at vertical heights of 12–14 m; 3) a compact tree arrangement reduced the shortwave radiation that reached the wall during the daytime by a large extent and thus had the best cooling effect in all scenes; and 4) trees with an LAD of 1.1 led to 20 °C greater cooling for a brick in one day than trees with an LAD of 0.3. This research attempts to reveal the influence of trees on building surface temperature and provide the corresponding decision basis for tree planning in residential areas to reduce the impact of urban heat pressure on human health and energy consumption.

Effects of conventional, extensive and semi-intensive green roofs on building conductive heat fluxes and surface temperatures in winter in Paris

This study investigated the impacts of extensive and semi-intensive green roofs on both building insulation and surface urban heat island effect under winter conditions. To this aim we compared measurements of surface and building envelope temperatures as well as conductive heat fluxes reaching the external building envelope with those measured on a conventional bituminous roof under identical climatic conditions. The main effect of green roofs was to decrease daily fluctuations of external building envelope temperatures and as a consequence to reduce fluctuations of conductive heat fluxes reaching the building envelope. This effect is all the more important that the substrate is deep, in link with its heat capacity and thermal inertia. Yet, no significant effect of the green roofs on surface urban heat island has been observed on average despite a surface cooling during daytime. It is concluded that the green roofs can be suitable urban greening solutions since they do not have negative effect on surface urban heat island during winter, provide cooling during summer, and contribute to building insulation inducing therefore building energy savings.

Radiative heat loss estimation of building envelopes based on 3D thermographic models utilizing small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS)

The advent of sUAS (small unmanned aerial systems – or surveying drones) technology has made comprehensive thermographic analyses of the built environment feasible. Advantages over traditional thermal survey techniques include a significant increase in ease of three-dimensional (3D) navigation around large structures as well as the ability to perform data-rich measurements. 3D building envelope thermographic models represent the building surface temperatures and can be created using structure-from-motion photogrammetry techniques with the collected high-overlap sUAS thermographic images. This paper introduces an end-to-end workflow for measuring radiative heat loss from building envelopes. This includes the setup and process required for quickly creating accurate 3D thermographic models and their analysis with software developed for this purpose. Three analytical models for building envelope radiative heat loss are applied and tested for viability through controlled experiments. The workflow is then demonstrated by evaluating the thermal radiation losses of two buildings on the campuses of the University of North Georgia. Our findings suggest the workflow can quickly provide good radiative heat loss measurements and may be a valuable addition to more comprehensive thermal analysis techniques.