Question

Albedo is the ratio between

• A. Sensible Heat and Latent Heat
• B. Reflected Radiation and Insolation
• C. Absolute Humidity and Saturation Point Humidity
• D. Indoor Illumination and Outdoor Illumination

Hint:

Albedo compares how much sunlight a surface bounces back to how much sunlight fell on it in the first place.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
We need to recall what physical quantity albedo describes in building climatology.

Step 2: Key Concept:
Albedo measures how reflective a surface is to solar radiation. It is defined as the ratio of the solar radiation reflected by a surface to the total solar radiation falling on that surface, called insolation.
\[ \text{Albedo} = \frac{\text{Reflected Radiation}}{\text{Insolation}} \]
A surface with a high albedo, like fresh snow or a white-painted wall, reflects most of the sunlight that hits it, while a surface with a low albedo, like dark asphalt, absorbs most of it and heats up.

Step 3: Checking the other options:
Sensible heat and latent heat are the two parts that add up to the heat content of moist air on a psychrometric chart, not a reflectivity ratio, so option (A) is wrong.
Absolute humidity and saturation point humidity relate to the moisture content of air and are used to define relative humidity, not albedo, so option (C) is wrong.
Indoor and outdoor illumination are used to define the daylight factor, a lighting design ratio, not albedo, so option (D) is wrong.

Step 4: Final Answer:
Albedo is the ratio between reflected radiation and insolation.
\[ \boxed{\text{Option (B)}} \]