Convective heat transfer coefficients at a plane surface on a full-scale building facade

Accurate knowledge of the heat transfer processes at the external surfaces of buildings is necessary for design purposes. Using an experimental arrangement designed to provide measurements of good quality and accuracy, correlations are obtained for the external convection heat transfer coefficient h(c) as a function of wind speed for a plane, smooth test surface on the facade of an eight-storey building. Values for h(c) were correlated with wind speeds measured 1 m from the test surface and at 11 m above the roof. The correlations presented may be used for the prediction of h(c) values for the central region of smooth, multi-storey building facades between fourth and eighth storey levels inclusive.