Convective heat transfer coefficients on all external surfaces of a generic residential building in crossflow

Abstract

An experimentally validated computational model is used to determine quantitative information on convective heat transfer coefficients on all of the external surfaces of a generic residence. The motivating application for this investigation is the need for overall convective heat transfer coefficients to enable accurate design and analysis for devices such as roof top solar panels. The numerical solutions provide detailed distributions of the local heat transfer coefficient on all of the surfaces of the residence that are otherwise difficult to obtain by experimental measurements alone. The unsteady fluid flow behavior around residential buildings and its affect on heat transfer were found to be significant at higher wind speeds.