An Experimental Framework to Measure Dynamic Thermal Resilience of Wall Panels under Extreme Weather Conditions

As extreme weather events (e.g., heat/cold waves) are likely to become more frequent and more intense with climate change, it is vital to take action to mitigate their impact on the environment, society, and infrastructure. Therefore, identifying the thermal resilience of building envelopes under extreme weather conditions is important to adapt the buildings for long-term changes in climate. A majority of previous studies evaluated thermal performance of building envelopes under steady-state conditions. In contrast, this study introduces an experimental framework to evaluate the dynamic thermal performance of building envelopes (e.g., wall panels) under non-steady-state condition, by utilizing the measurement of their dynamic thermal properties. The analysis is carried out through the use of two key metrics, decrement factor (DF) and time lag (TL), which are employed to quantify the dynamic thermal resilience of building envelopes. This framework consists of five steps, namely weather data collection, experimental setup preparation, tuning phase, extreme weather simulation, and TL and DF calculation. The developed framework will aid in developing energy-efficient and resilient buildings to adapt to climate changes. Moreover, decision makers (e.g., designers, architects, manufacturers) will be able to better understand how building envelope design can impact energy efficiency and indoor thermal comfort.