RT Journal Article
T1 Comparative assessment of quantitative infrared thermography approaches for experimental thermal transmittance determination using UAVs
A1 Videras Rodríguez, Marta
A1 López Cabeza, Victoria Patricia
A1 Gómez Melgar, Sergio Jesús
A1 Andújar Márquez, José Manuel
K1 Thermal transmittance
K1 U-value
K1 Aerial thermography
K1 Unmanned aerial vehicles
K1 Drones
K1 Building envelope
K1 Envelope characterization
AB Rapid and non-contact evaluation of building thermal efficiency remains a major challenge in urban energy management. The increasing use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with thermal cameras has expanded the potential of aerial thermography as a diagnostic tool for assessing building energy performance. This study compares five Quantitative Infrared Thermography (QIRT) methodologies (Methods A-E) for estimating the U-value of building envelopes, benchmarking them against theoretical reference values derived from in-situ wall characterization. The research analyzes the sensitivity of these methods to boundary condition uncertainties through two winter experimental campaigns in southwestern Spain. Results reveal that no single experimental method is universally robust; accuracy is critically dependent on the algebraic formulation of each method and specific environmental variables. Methods A and B exhibited extreme sensitivity to wind speed, showing deviations of up to 52 % with minor perturbations (±1 m/s), rendering them unsuitable without precise anemometry. Method E showed deviations of ≈40 % linked to internal surface temperature variations, while Method C proved highly volatile regarding external surface temperatures. Conversely, Method D, which incorporates both convective and radiative terms, emerged as the most balanced approach, showing intermediate stability (≈20– 27 % deviation) across all variables. Consequently, this study identifies the optimal application scenarios for each method based on field measurement capabilities, providing a decision-making framework to ensure the reliability of UAV-based thermographic assessments.
PB Elsevier
SN 0360-1323
SN 1873-684X (electrónico)
YR 2026
FD 2026
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/28089
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/28089
LA eng
NO Marta Videras-Rodríguez, Victoria Patricia López-Cabeza, Sergio Gómez-Melgar, José Manuel Andújar-Márquez, Comparative assessment of quantitative infrared thermography approaches for experimental thermal transmittance determination using UAVs, Building and Environment, Volume 294, 2026, 114359, ISSN 0360-1323, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2026.114359.
NO Universidad de Huelva / CBUA
NO This work has been supported by the project PID2023–146213OA-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 30 may 2026