Cotterman Roofing Knowledgebase

The time rate of steady-state heat flow through a unit area of a homogeneous material induced by a unit temperature gradient in a direction perpendicular to that unit area. In English (inch•pound) units of measurement, it is the number of British thermal units (Btu) that pass through a 1-inch thickness of a 1-square-foot sample of material in one hour with a temperature difference between the two surfaces of 1 degree Fahrenheit. In English (inch•pound) units, it is expressed as Btu•inch/h•ft2•F.
Note 1: A thermal conductivity (k) value applies to 1-inch thickness of a specific material.

Note 2: It is mathematically incorrect to add, multiply or divide the thermal conductivity (k) value of a material to determine the thermal performance value of a different thickness of the same material. If it is necessary to determine the thermal performance of a specific thickness of a material, it is appropriate to convert the thermal conductivity (k) of the material to a thermal resistance (R) value (i.e., R = 1/k) and then perform the mathematical calculation.