Estimation of thermal performance of typical building envelopes in Serbia using infrared thermography

Abstract

Working on the scientific project with the aim of formulation of National Typology of Residential buildings in Serbia, a group of researchers from the Faculty of Architecture University of Belgrade has analyzed diverse building types in Serbia, classifying them and identifying relevant construction elements. This typology has been finalized as the matrix of real buildings being chosen as typical representations of statistical averages of all relevant characteristics. At the same time energy performance of all types has been defined both by numerical calculation and on site inspection. By using infrared thermography for analysis of all identified types a distinct thermal envelope signature has been recorded and further discussed. This paper presents some of the most common envelope types with analysis of their thermal performance. Infrared inspection has been used as the main investigation tool, while verification of obtained results has been confirmed by the means of mathematical modeling using the computational method of infinite differences derived from the actual construction drawings obtained from the archives. Paper discusses the diversities of applied construction technologies and their influence on energy performance defining the most common problems.