Measurement of the Exterior Convective Film Coefficient for Windows in Low-Rise Buildings

The MoWiTT field facility is used to measure the convective film coefficient over the exterior surface of a window. The MoWiTT-measured data is compared to some commonly-used experimental and theoretical models. The comparison shows that the MoWiTT data disagrees with the previously used models such as the ASHRAE/DOE-2 model. The reasons for these disagreements are discussed. An experimental model, based on the MoWiTT data, is presented to correlate the film coefficient with the difference in temperatures of the exterior glass surface and the ambient, in the natural convection region, and with the site wind speed, in the forced convection region. The wind speed is considered both in windward and leeward hemispheres. The validity of the MoWiTT model for low-rise buildings is then discussed.