Characterization of the Thermal Transmittance in Buildings Using Low-Cost Temperature Sensors

Estimating transmittance value is a decisive factor to calculate the rate of energy scape in buildings. Various methods are available to determine this parameter in the literature and practice. However, they have some inconveniences (such as the fact that they are traditionally based on a limited number of measurements and expensive instrumentation). This paper introduces the application of low-cost sensors for the thermal monitoring of buildings. To do so, on the basis of the temperature-based method (TBM), an Arduino-based data acquisition device was developed to infer the transmittance parameter of building envelopes. This system is supported by an Internet of Things (IoT) platform which provides low-cost postprocessing and saving of data. The potential of this metering device has been shown by carrying out thermal monitoring of a box model in laboratory conditions. Finally, to ensure the monitoring accuracy, the obtained results have been compared with those obtained from ISO 10456/2007.