Analysis of Low-Density Heat Flux Data by the Wavelet Method

Abstract

When evaluating the energy efficiency of buildings and implementing the necessary measures to increase energy efficiency levels, thermal technical characteristics are determined. For this purpose, in situ measurements of the thermal resistance of external enclosing structures were carried out. One of the methods most often used by researchers is the non-destructive method—the heat flow meter (HFM) method regulated by ISO 9869. In the case of surveying a building with a high level of thermal resistance, researchers are faced with low-density heat flux measurements, which is always a difficult task due to significant fluctuations and the influence of external factors on the measurement results. This is due to the fact that it is difficult to determine what is a useful signal and what is a consequence of the effects of non-stationarity and heat transfer conditions. The article provides an example of low-density heat flux measurements when determining the thermal resistance of a building and proposes a data pre-processing procedure that allows for the reduction of heat flux fluctuations, which has a significant impact on the final result at low density. The proposed use of wavelet analysis in the pre-processing of low-density heat flux measurement data makes it possible to reconstruct them or reduce disturbances that occur during research. A comparison of the obtained results with the results of the calculation according to ISO 9869-1 showed a decrease in the standard deviation of the measurements from 5.74 to 2.81%. The results of this study can be used to reduce the noise of low-density heat flux and, as a result, reduce the standard deviation of the measurement when applying the HFM method of determining the thermal resistance of external enclosing structures.