This document specifies a procedure for determining the emissivity at room temperature of the
surfaces of glass and coated glass.
The emissivity is necessary for taking into account heat transfer by radiation from surfaces at the
standard temperature of 283 K in the determination of the U value and of the total solar transmittance
of glazing according to [1] to [4].
The procedure, being based on spectrophotometric regular reflectance measurements at near normal
incidence on materials that are non-transparent in the infrared region, is not applicable to glazing
components with at least one of the following characteristics:
a) with rough or structured surfaces where the incident radiation is diffusely reflected;
b) with curved surfaces where the incident radiation is regularly reflected at angles unsuitable to
reach the detector while using regular reflectance accessories;
c) infrared transparent.
However, it can be applied with caution to any glazing component provided its surfaces are flat and
non-diffusing (see 3.1.6) and it is non-transparent in the infrared region (see 3.1.7).
Although transmittance measurements are included in this document, they are only necessary to check
if the sample is non-transparent in the infrared region in the context of this document (see 3.1.7). If the
sample is transparent in the infrared region, this document is not applicable.
The previous version of this document was based on the use of reflectance measurements using double
beam dispersive infrared spectrophotometers capable of measuring over almost the entire spectral
range of a black body at the standard reference temperature and determining the emissivity by the 30
ordinate method [6]. This version takes account of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR)
spectrophotometers where the spectral range is limited. It describes a method whereby
spectrophotometers can be used to determine emissivity if they are able to measure up to the 24th
ordinate point and if they satisfy a noise criterion for this spectral range. It allows the inclusion of data
from the 25th ordinate point up to the 30th ordinate point. A new informative annex (Annex D)
describing the principles of absolute reflection accessories has been added to this version. These
accessories are intended to be used by qualified personnel.
As FTIR spectrophotometers are single beam instruments as opposed to dispersive spectrophotometers
which are double beam instruments (and thus able to correct for instrument drift), a procedure was
developed by the European funded project, THERMES, to correct for drift. This procedure is described
in [10] and [16]. Other categories of ordinate errors using FTIR spectrophotometers are discussed in
[14].
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