Building and Environment 44 (2009) 1869–1875

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Building and Environment

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Passive cooling systems for cement-based roofs

Jorge L. Alvarado a, *, Wilson Terrell, Jr. b, Michael D. Johnson a
a
Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, Texas A&M University, MS 3367, College Station, TX 77843-3367, USA
b
Department of Engineering Science, Trinity University, One Trinity Place, San Antonio, TX 78212-7200, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In warmer climates, buildings made of cement-based materials often exhibit unfavorable thermal
Received 14 October 2008 characteristics including higher interior temperature, especially in the absence of an active cooling
Received in revised form mechanical system. The purpose of this research project was to investigate the thermal effects of newly
22 December 2008
designed passive cooling systems on concrete roofs in existing buildings. Each tested passive cooling
Accepted 23 December 2008
system consists of a combination of materials that can reduce net heat load in buildings. Commercially
available materials such as aluminum 1100 and galvanized steel were used as radiation reflectors; and
Keywords:
polyurethane, polystyrene, polyethylene, and an air gap were used as insulation. Experimental results
Passive cooling
Metal reflector based on laboratory-scale prototypes show that the radiation reflector shape as well as the material
Insulation selection of each passive cooling system led to reductions in heat conduction between 65 and 88% when
Tropical climate compared to a control prototype. Each passive cooling system showed a slow thermal time response
Cement-based roof when compared to a plain concrete roof, which is a desirable characteristic for controlling thermal
Heat flux reduction fluctuations when heat conduction is also reduced simultaneously. Transient empirical models to predict
accurately the midpoint temperature of a cement roof were formulated with and without passive cooling
systems in use.
Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction implemented readily using commercially available materials to

Unwanted thermal energy can accumulate in buildings and
dwellings from a variety of sources, such as heat from interior
appliances, equipment, and occupants; solar radiation; and radia-
tion- or convection-induced heat transfer and air infiltration
through walls. Undesirable thermal energy storage is a critical issue
in the tropics where cement-based materials (i.e. concrete) are
routinely used in the construction of buildings. It is well docu-
mented that concrete and other cement-based material can absorb
thermal energy for long periods of time especially when they are
subject to high ambient temperatures, which fluctuate between
31  C (88  F) in the winter and 34  C (93  F) in the summer [1] in
the tropics. Moreover, cement-based buildings retain thermal
energy for periods of time exceeding the normal diurnal cycle
(sunrise to sunset) and do not allow enough time to dissipate the
absorbed thermal energy at night when backward radiation cooling
is significant. As a result, mechanical air conditioning systems
require considerable energy to maintain comfortable indoor
conditions resulting in substantial energy costs. An efficient and
inexpensive passive cooling system is needed that can be
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ1 979 458 1900; fax: þ1 979 862 7969.
E-mail address: alvarado@entc.tamu.edu (J.L. Alvarado).
help reduce energy consumption and cost.
2. Background
Passive cooling involves designing buildings and selecting
construction materials in a way that reduces heat absorption and
conduction through the roof and walls. The goal of these systems is
to minimize, or eliminate if possible, the use of mechanical air
conditioning systems to decrease energy consumption. Agrawal [2]
in his study postulated that by using proper passive design
concepts at least 2.35% of the world energy consumption could be
avoided. Several passive cooling studies have been conducted over
the years, with a focus on roofs. Niachou et al. [3] and Zhou et al. [4]
conducted experiments on green roofs using vegetation as
a passive cooling technique. The results obtained were modest.
Meng and Hu [5] studied roof cooling effects due to a humid porous
medium, which made use of water evaporation. Their results
showed that the outer and inner surface roof temperatures were
reduced significantly. Several studies compared various passive
cooling strategies [6–10] which ranged from painting roofs with
white ceramic paint, installing thermal insulation above and
underneath roofs, installing shallow water ponds, and incorpo-
rating air cavities in walls. Each study determined that evaporative
cooling was the best method for lowering the roof temperature and

0360-1323/$ – see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2008.12.012
1870 J.L. Alvarado et al. / Building and Environment 44 (2009) 1869–1875

inside air temperature. Raeissi [11] demonstrated that the Sky-

therm method of covering roofs with water filled plastic bags and
using moveable insulation could reduce both cooling and heating
loads of buildings in regions with large solar irradiation. Cheikh and
Bouchar [12] investigated the use of an evapo-reflective roof for hot
and dry climates, and showed that cooling inside buildings could be
reduced by up to 8  C compared to a bare roof. The system was
composed of an aluminum plate with white titanium based paint,
which reflected solar radiation, while water vapor inside the roof
condensed and fell due to gravity. This system created a heat pipe
effect, which removed heat from the roof. Kharrufa and Adil [13]
found that a roof pond, in conjunction with mechanical forced
ventilation, could reduce the cooling load by approximately 29%
when compared to a bare roof. The main disadvantage of the
evaporative cooling, Skytherm, and evapo-reflective methods is the
need for water, which could be a problem in arid regions or other
Fig. 1. Passive cooling system.
places where water is not readily available in enough quantities
during specific times of the year. Nahar et al. [8] estimated that for
evaporative cooling to be effective, 50 L/m2 of water per day would minimize heat conduction from the roof to the side walls and to
be needed. In humid regions, such passive cooling systems are less ensure uniform heat flux throughout the roof. Several type-T
effective given the lower potential for evaporation at higher relative thermocouples were placed on the roof and inside of the structures
humidity levels. to measure temperatures throughout the structure. Surface-mount
Alvarado and Martinez [14] tested a simple and inexpensive thermocouples and heat flux sensors were also placed on the sides
passive cooling design for concrete roofs, and demonstrated that of each laboratory-scale roof to measure surface temperature, and
the implementation of the design could result in a considerable heat flux, respectively.
drop in roof temperature. Their design is composed of an insulating The basic concept for each passive cooling system consisted of
layer topped by a triangular-shaped reflector, which casts shadows an insulation and a metallic reflector attached to the cement
on itself and promotes the formation of cooler spots resulting in structure as shown in Fig. 1. The basic function of the insulator is to
better natural convection. Their study focused on a single geometry minimize heat conduction through the roof. Five insulating mate-
and two orientations of the reflector, and did not consider alternate rials, having low thermal conductivity and low density, were
materials for either the insulating layer or the reflector, or other considered for testing and are given in Table 1.
alternate geometries for the reflector. The purpose of the current In addition to choosing insulating materials, materials with high
study is to extend the analysis of Alvarado and Martinez [14] by thermal diffusivity and high reflectivity were considered for the
testing the performance of similar passive cooling systems but reflector. The main objective was to reflect and dissipate as much
considering various geometries for the reflectors, and different radiation-generated heat as possible. The reflector should also
reflector and insulation materials. These systems have been devised provide long-term protection to the insulator from sunlight and
taking into account the temperature range that is usually encoun- rain since both elements can have a detrimental long-term effect on
tered in subtropical and tropical climates. Such systems could be of insulators. In general, thin reflectors possess low thermal inertia
special benefit as a low cost retrofit solution for individuals who and low heat absorption characteristics. Aluminum 1100-H14 and
cannot afford air conditioning systems and the associated energy galvanized steel sheets were selected as reflectors based on their
costs in tropical regions. Material selection for each passive cooling desirable thermal and radiation properties (see Table 2) and
system considered thermal properties such as thermal conduc- commercial availability.
tivity, solar reflectivity, and ease of maintenance, ease of installa- Three reflector surface configurations were tested: flat; corru-
tion and low capital cost. Materials were selected with the goal of gated (sinusoidal); and triangular (right-triangle) (see Fig. 2a–d).
achieving low heat absorption and low heat conduction. The corrugated (sinusoidal) pattern is 10 mm in height (from peak
to peak) and 30 mm in between adjacent between peaks. The
3. Devised passive cooling systems reflector sits above the flat insulation, with air tubes (open air
cavities) between the corrugation and insulation. Flat reflectors
Several passive cooling systems were developed for testing in were kept in close contact with the insulation by using thermally
a cement-based, laboratory-scale prototype. Two identical cement- insulated clips as shown in Fig. 2b. In the case of the triangular
based structures were fabricated, as described in Ref. [14]. One
structure was used as the control case, while the other was used to Table 1
test each passive cooling system. The two experimental structures Standard thermal properties of selected insulators.
were constructed using type S Mortar Mason Ready Mix from
Thermal Polystyrene Polyurethane Sand Rubber Polyethylene
QuickreteÓ. Each structure has dimensions of 38.1 cm by 28.6 cm by property foam, CO2
10.2 cm, with a roof thickness of 19 mm (based on a typical blown
concrete house in Puerto Rico using a scale of 32:1). Each structure Thermal 0.027 [15] 0.023 [16] 0.33 [17] 0.16 [17] 0.33 [18]
consisted of fabricated cement-based segments, which were made conductivity,
by pouring wet mortar into molds (sides, floor, back, front and k (W/m  C)
Density, r 55 [15] 24 [16] 1520 [17] 1190 [17] 910 [18,19]
roof), each having a thickness of 19 mm. A wire-mesh was used to
(kg/m3)
simulate steel re-bar that is necessary to provide the required Specific heat, 1.21 [15] 1.59 [16] 0.8 [17] 2.0 [17] 2.3 [18]
strength. After pouring wet mortar into each mold, the mortar was cp (kJ/kg  C)
allowed to cure for 30 days. After 30 days, the segments were glued Volumetric heat 66.55 38.16 1216 2380 2093
capacity, rcp
together to form each cement-based prototype. Thin pieces of
(kJ/m3  C)
insulation were placed between the roof and the side walls to
 J.L. Alvarado et al. / Building and Environment 44 (2009) 1869–1875
Table 2
Standard thermal and radiation properties of selected reflectors.
Aluminum 1100
Density, r (kg/m3) 2740 [17]
Thermal conductivity, k (W/m  C) 221 [17]
Specific heat, cp (kJ/kg  C) 0.896 [17]
Volumetric heat capacity, rcp (kJ/m3  C) 2466
Thermal diffusivity, a (k/rcp) (m2/s) 90  106
Reflectivity 0.9 [20,21]
configuration, the vertical profile was designed and fabricated in
a way that repetitive shadows could be created on the troughs of
the corrugated surface. Repetitive shadows should allow for
a temperature gradient in the reflector which should promote
better natural convection and heat dissipation, and allow the
formation of local cooler spots in metallic surfaces with high
thermal diffusivity [14]. However, the results shown in this article
suggest that little heat transfer enhancement is gained by using
a corrugated reflector which can be attributed to a 55% increase in
heat transfer area and not necessarily to better natural convection.
Fig. 2. Surface reflector configurations: (a) flat; (b) flat before testing; (c) corrugated (sinusoidal); (d) triangular.
1871
The triangular configuration (reflector) was fabricated so that each
vertical side was 25.4 mm in height. The diagonal side was at 45
Galvanized steel with respect to the vertical side. All the reflectors perfectly match the
7833 [16] horizontal surface area of each prototype (444.5 mm  362 mm).
45.3 [16] The flat and corrugated reflectors had a total surface area of
0.502 [16] 1610 cm2 and 2525 cm2, respectively.
3917
The insulating materials were purchased in sheet form except
11.5  106
0.6 [21] for the triangular reflector, in which polyurethane was applied as
sprayed-foam. The reflector configuration was fabricated using
a mechanical press. Each reflector was then attached to the corre-
sponding insulator, and each passive cooling prototype was placed
on top of the laboratory-scale concrete roof as seen in Fig. 3.
3.1. Experimental set-up and plan
Two structures (one control and one experimental) had all the
required instrumentation including surface-mount thermocouples,
thin-film heat flux sensors, and a computerized data acquisition
system as indicated above. Each structure was positioned identi-
cally underneath a 600-W T-type halogen lamp capable of raising
1872 J.L. Alvarado et al. / Building and Environment 44 (2009) 1869–1875

Table 3
Experimental test matrix.

Test no. Reflector material and configuration Insulating material and thickness
1 Aluminum 1100, flat Polyurethane, 6.4 mm
2 Aluminum 1100, corrugated (sinusoidal) Polyurethane, 6.4 mm
3 [14] Aluminum 1100, right triangular Polyurethane, 9.5 mm
4 Galvanized steel, flat Polystyrene, 19 mm
5 Galvanized steel, corrugated (sinusoidal) Polyurethane, 6.4 mm
6 Galvanized steel, flat Polyurethane, 6.4 mm
7 Galvanized steel, flat Air gap, 16 mm
8 Galvanized steel, flat Polyethylene, 6.4 mm

Fig. 3. Assembled passive cooling system.
the concrete surface temperature to over 45  C. The lamps were
fixed at an angle of 45 with respect to the horizontal plane at
a height of 45.7 cm. Both lamps, which were used to simulate the
solar irradiation, were also placed at the same distance with respect
to each prototype to ensure the same amount of irradiation.
Halogen lamps have been used in previous studies [22,23] as
a suitable simulator of solar irradiation since the halogen lamps
typically transmit a similar spectral range as the sun (300–2500 nm
[17]). Fig. 4 shows each structure, lamp, and the centralized data
acquisition system in operation.
Both the cement-based test structures were wired with ther-
mocouples (Type-T; 0.5  C accuracy) inside. For the concrete roof,
thermocouples were placed at three distinct locations including the,
top surface, middle point (roof midpoint), and bottom surface. The
thermocouples were placed and handled with care to ensure proper
temperature data before the concrete was poured into the molds.
Heat flux sensors (Omega HFS-4; nominal sensitivity of 2.06 mV/W/
m2; nominal sensitivity  10%) were positioned in the center of
cement roof on the bottom surface to measure the heat flux trans-
mitted across each roof. The thermocouples and heat flux sensors
were interfaced with an Agilent 34978-A data acquisition unit, and
analyzed using Benchlink data logger software and Microsoft Excel.
The two structures were located away from doors and windows
to avoid air currents near the experimental bench top. The testing
room was large and the ambient room temperature was actively
controlled by the building air conditioning system to maintain
a constant temperature. The ambient room temperature was
consistent between tests, with an average of 24.4  C and a standard
deviation of 0.6  C.
As a part of the experimental plan, a variety of heat transfer tests
were conducted to determine the efficiency of each devised cooling
system. Table 3 summarizes the experimental plan. For the corru-
gated and right triangular reflectors, the insulation thickness refers to
the thinnest portion of the insulation. Each design was subjected to
a 16-h experiment including both a heating cycle and a cooling cycle.
4. Results and discussion

4.1. Thermal performance

Eight different passive cooling systems were designed, assem-

bled and tested and they are listed in Table 3. Material type and
shape were the primary factors used to come up with several
passive cooling system designs. A total of eight thermal experi-
ments were conducted. Each test consisted in tracking tempera-
tures throughout the system during the transient and steady
phases of the experiment. Once each system reached steady state
(i.e. the midpoint temperature of the cement roof reached
a constant value within the accuracy of the imbedded thermo-
couple for at least two consecutive hours), the amount of heat
transfer by conduction was measured for each prototype using the

Table 4
Heat flux reduction and roof midpoint temperature rise for several passive cooling
systems.

Test Reflector material and Insulating material and Heat flux DT a

no. configuration thickness reduction ( C)
Control Control – 22.7
1 Aluminum 1100, flat Polyurethane, 6.4 mm 88% 4.7
2 Aluminum 1100, corrugated Polyurethane, 6.4 mm 84% 5.3
(sinusoidal)
3 Aluminum 1100, right Polyurethane, 9.5 mm 79% 5.8
triangular
4 Galvanized steel, flat Polystyrene, 19 mm 76% 6.9
5 Galvanized steel, corrugated Polyurethane, 6.4 mm 74% 7.5
(sinusoidal)
6 Galvanized steel, flat Polyurethane, 6.4 mm 71% 8.7
7 Galvanized steel, flat Air gap, 16 mm 69% 10.8
8 Galvanized steel, flat Polyethylene, 6.4 mm 65% 9.6
a
Fig. 4. (a) Experimental test set-up (experimental and control houses under 600-W Temperature rise is defined as the difference between the final and initial roof
lamps); (b) experimental test set-up before testing. midpoint temperatures (i.e. DT ¼ Tfinal  Tinitial).
 J.L. Alvarado et al. / Building and Environment 44 (2009) 1869–1875 1873

80 The temperature rise (i.e. DT ¼ Tfinal  Tinitial) at the midpoint of

the cement roof is also shown in Table 4 which is another indicator
70 that is used to determine the effectiveness of each passive cooling
Surface Temperature [°C]

system [14]. The results reveal the importance of material selection

60
from a thermal performance standpoint. Specifically, it is clear that
50
aluminum 1100 (Al 1100) is a better reflector than galvanized steel
when comparing test results 1 and 6 in Table 4. As noted in Table 2,
40 Flat Galvanized Steel Al 1100 has a higher thermal diffusivity, higher reflectivity, and less
Flat Al 1100 volumetric heat capacity than galvanized steel which should result
30 Room temperature in higher surface temperatures in galvanized steel. This assertion
was corroborated by testing and measuring the surface tempera-
20 tures of flat aluminum 1100 and galvanized steel sheets as depicted
in Fig. 5. The surface temperatures of the reflectors were measured
10
by attaching thermocouples underneath each reflector sheet to
0 avoid radiation-related thermocouple effects. The first three tests
0 1 2 3 4 shown in Tables 3 and 4 indicate that a flat Al 1100 sheet performs
Time [Hrs] better than the corrugated and triangular-shaped reflectors from
a heat flux reduction standpoint while triangular-shaped passive
Fig. 5. Surface temperature of flat galvanized steel and flat aluminum 1100 reflector cooling system exhibits a lower heat flux reduction than the ones
sheets.
that used corrugated (sinusoidal) and flat reflectors even when
using thicker polyurethane as insulator. When comparing corru-
attached heat flux sensors. One of the most important observations
gated aluminum and galvanized steel sheets (tests 2 and 5),
noted was the significant reduction in heat conduction through the
aluminum yields greater heat flux reduction and lower tempera-
experimental roof unit as sensed by the heat flux sensors as shown
ture rise than galvanized steel.
in Table 4. The percentage of heat flux reduction was calculated
By looking at Table 4, one comes to know that corrugation seems
using the heat flux values of the control and experimental proto-
not to make a significant difference in terms of thermal perfor-
types simultaneously using the following equation:
mance. Also, the effects of air tubes (i.e. air cavities or pockets) in
% heat flux reduction a corrugated passive cooling system are hard to quantify because of
  the small difference in midpoint temperature rise and heat flux
heat fluxexperimental  heat fluxcontrol reduction between the flat and corrugated systems. Nevertheless,
¼ (1) corrugated-shaped reflectors with and without air tubes should
heat fluxcontrol
still be considered in future studies since the increased surface area

a 48 Midpoint temperature, control

46
44 Midpoint temperature, 1100 Al + 6.4 mm
Average midpoint
temperature [°C]

42 polyurethane
40 Inside air temperature, control
38
36 Inside air temperature, 1100 Al + 6.4 mm
34 polyurethane
32
30
28
26
24
0 5 10 15 20
Time [hrs]

b
47
Average midpoint temperature [°C]

45
43
41 Midpoint temperature (experimental), control
39 Midpoint temperature, 1100 Al + 6.4 mm
37 polyurethane (experimental)
35 Midpoint temperature (model), control
33 Midpoint temperature, 1100 Al + 6.4 mm
polyurethane (model)
31
29
27
25
23
0 2 4 6 8
Time [hrs]

Fig. 6. (a) Roof and inside air temperature profiles during heating and cooling of Al 1100 flat with 6.4 mm of polyurethane, (b) experimental and model-based roof midpoint
temperatures of Al 110 flat with 6.4 mm of polyurethane system during heating.
1874 J.L. Alvarado et al. / Building and Environment 44 (2009) 1869–1875

Figs. 6a and 7a show how two devised passive cooling systems

a 48 can reduce the average concrete midpoint and inside (interior) air
Average midpoint temperature [°C]

46 temperatures significantly. The reduction in midpoint temperature

44 Midpoint temperature, control is consistent with the reduction in heat conduction (heat flux) seen
42
in each passive cooling system as reported in Table 4 except for
Midpoint temperature, galvanized steel + 6.4 mm
tests 7 and 8.
40 polyurethane
The transient heat transfer process of a passive cooling system is
38 Inside air temperature, control
difficult to model analytically given the nature of the boundary
36 Inside air temperature, galvanized steel + 6.4 mm
polyurethane
conditions present including simultaneous radiation and natural
34 convection on the exterior surface. However, Alvarado and Martinez
32 [14] showed that the time-dependent (transient) midpoint
30 temperature of the cement-based roof could be modeled accurately
using an exponential empirical model with or without the use of
28
a passive cooling system. A similar approach was used in this study
26
to model empirically the characteristic midpoint temperature for all
24 the passive cooling systems.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
The following time-dependent (transient) model was used to fit
Time [hrs] the midpoint temperature (middle of the concrete roof) data:
b 48
q ¼ ebt
Average midpoint temperature [°C]

46
(2)
44 Midpoint temperature (experimental), control
TðtÞ  Tf
42 Midpoint temperature (experimental), galvanized q ¼
40 steel + 6.4 mm polyurethane Ti  Tf
Midpoint temperature (model), control
38 where q is the dimensionless midpoint temperature of the concrete
36 Midpoint temperature (model), galvanized steel roof, b is a fitted parameter, and t, T(t), Ti and Tf are time, time-
+ 6.4 mm polyurethane
34 dependent midpoint temperature, initial midpoint temperature,
32 and final midpoint temperature, respectively. The method of least
30 squares [24] was used to find the best fit for the parameter b, taking
28 the natural log of the dimensionless midpoint temperature, based
on the recorded time-dependent temperature data, for each passive
26
cooling test as shown in Table 5. Time-dependent temperature data
24
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
and the corresponding empirical model predictions for aluminum–
polyurethane and galvanized steel–polyurethane passive cooling
Time [hrs]
systems are shown in Figs. 6b and 7b.
Fig. 7. (a) Roof and inside air temperature profiles during heating and cooling of Table 5 shows that the empirical models fit the experimental
corrugated (sinusoidal) galvanized steel with 6.4 mm of polyurethane, (b) experi- data well given the high correlation values and are consistent with
mental and model-based roof midpoint temperatures of corrugated (sinusoidal) previous studies [14]. Furthermore, it shows that the dimensionless
galvanized steel with 6.4 mm of polyurethane.
time-dependent model can be used for almost any type of inert
and potential internal air flow may help dissipate heat better under (without water) passive cooling system. Also, the value of b is
forced-convection conditions. a good indicator of the dynamic behavior of the assembly, which
Natural convection should play a more significant role in the includes the passive cooling system and cement roof. The inverse of
dissipation of thermal energy in galvanized steel than in aluminum b is defined as the time constant of the transient heat transfer
due in large part to higher surface temperatures as seen in Fig. 5. At process (s ¼ 1/b). The time constant indicates the amount of time
higher surface temperatures, natural convection increases as pre- necessary for the dimensionless temperature to reach 0.368
dicted by higher Rayleigh number and Grashof number, which is (q ¼ e1). The time constant can be used to determine which
proportional to the temperature difference between the surface passive cooling system yields a faster or slower thermal response.
and the ambient air (Ts  TN). Furthermore, natural convection is In Table 5 roofs covered with passive cooling systems exhibit lower
enhanced when inclined and vertical surfaces are used [14]. Future values of exponent (b) or greater time constants than bare roofs
studies should focus on modeling natural convection and radiation (control case). Increased time constants in cement-based structures
in corrugated-shaped reflectors to determine the optimal geometry along with larger heat flux reductions allow for better temperature
for passive cooling systems. control, and better management of diurnal and nocturnal thermal

Table 5
Heating and cooling models for experimental passive cooling systems.

Reflector Insulator Model heating Heating time constant (h) Model cooling Cooling time constant (h)
Control Control q ¼ e1.3462t (R2 ¼ 0.95) 0.74 q ¼ e1.2319t (R2 ¼ 0.97) 0.81
Aluminum 1100, flat Polyurethane, 6.4 mm q ¼ e0.6775t (R2 ¼ 0.99) 1.48 q ¼ e0.9192t (R2 ¼ 0.95) 1.09
Aluminum 1100, corrugated (sinusoidal) Polyurethane, 6.4 mm q ¼ e0.9948t (R2 ¼ 0.99) 1.0 q ¼ e0.8013t (R2 ¼ 0.98) 1.25
Aluminum 1100, right triangular Polyurethane, 9.5 mm q ¼ e0.6366t (R2 ¼ 0.97) 1.57 q ¼ e0.7667t (R2 ¼ 0.98) 1.30
Galvanized steel, flat Polystyrene, 19 mm q ¼ e0.5807t (R2 ¼ 0.98) 1.72 q ¼ e0.8654t (R2 ¼ 0.96) 1.16
Galvanized steel, corrugated (sinusoidal) Polyurethane, 6.4 mm q ¼ e0.7113t (R2 ¼ 0.99) 1.41 q ¼ e0.7386t (R2 ¼ 0.99) 1.35
Galvanized steel, flat Polyurethane, 6.4 mm q ¼ e0.7419t (R2 ¼ 0.95) 1.35 q ¼ e0.7792t (R2 ¼ 0.99) 1.28
Galvanized steel, flat Air gap, 16 mm q ¼ e0.6252t (R2 ¼ 0.95) 1.6 q ¼ e0.8523t (R2 ¼ 0.99) 1.17
Galvanized steel, flat Polyethylene, 6.4 mm q ¼ e0.6665t (R2 ¼ 0.99) 1.5 q ¼ e0.8997t (R2 ¼ 0.94) 1.11
 J.L. Alvarado et al. / Building and Environment 44 (2009) 1869–1875
loads which are often ignored in residential dwellings and build-
ings made of concrete. Furthermore, additional passive cooling and
comfort benefits can be obtained by dissipating the reduced
amount of thermal energy absorbed in hours of total darkness
when night backward radiation cooling is significant [25].
In summary, the combination of flat aluminum 1100 and poly-
urethane allows for the best thermal performance of the cement-
based roof including the highest heat flux reduction, and smallest
temperature rise during heating which is predicted accurately by
the empirical model. It is also clear that Al 1100 is better than
galvanized steel in reflecting and dissipating solar irradiation and
maintaining a lower reflector surface temperature as shown in
Fig. 5. On the other hand, less expensive materials such as galva-
nized steel can still provide similar performance.
4.2. Material selection
Each passive cooling system is composed of an insulator and
a reflector. Material selection should consider multiple objectives
including overall cost, thermal performance, weight, and durability.
Given the application (home roofs), it was also important that the
materials be readily available. The first part of this passive cooling
system is the reflector and its goal is to minimize heat absorption.
Materials with high thermal diffusivity and high surface reflectivity
would be beneficial for these purposes. Other material selection
considerations for the components of the passive cooling system
include processing time and cost, ease of insulation, and water
resistance. For the reflector component, a material with some level
of natural reflectivity would be beneficial.
The results in Table 4 show a significant reduction in heat
conduction due to the passive cooling system when compared to
the control prototype. A comprehensive energy study is necessary
to determine which passive cooling system offers the best long-
term benefits in terms of cost and durability in a real-scale system
under ambient conditions.
5. Conclusion
This study clearly demonstrates that well-designed passive
cooling systems can reduce heat absorption and heat conduction
and the midpoint temperature of cement-based roofs in a labora-
tory setting. The experimental results demonstrate that a combi-
nation of aluminum 1100 as flat reflector and polyurethane as
insulator provides the highest heat flux reduction of the systems
tested. Other materials and configuration combinations also
provide adequate thermal performance. After closer evaluation,
there is not enough evidence to suggest that corrugated reflectors
are beneficial, however corrugation may play a significant role in
forced-convection cases. The results prove that careful material
selection and reflector configuration are both important aspects
that make passive cooling systems more efficient. Results also
indicate that the midpoint temperature of cement-based roofs can
be modeled accurately using an empirical model with or without
the use of a passive cooling system. Future studies should
concentrate on testing passive cooling systems in real-size resi-
dential roofs in tropical regions to determine the amount of energy
savings that can be attained in a dynamic environment under
forced-convection conditions.
1875
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank those students who partici-
pated in the design, construction, and testing of several lab-scale
passive cooling systems including Matt Peterson, Todd Meador, Neil
Asmussen, and Joseph Esquivel. The authors are also grateful for the
support provided by Professor Angie Price who coordinated
the design activities of the students. All the pictures presented in
the paper were courtesy of the technical advisor and students who
participated in the project.
References
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