To determine the "R value" of a wall, insulated window or ceiling requires three simple temperature measurements:
- The "air" or ambient room temperature.
- The inside surface temperature of an exterior wall.
- The outside surface temperature of the same exterior wall.
The difference of the interior and exterior wall temperatures is calculated and this is labeled as "Temperature Difference, Interior to Exterior Wall". Now the difference between the "air" or ambient and the interior wall temperature is taken and this is labeled as "Temperature Difference, Air to Interior Wall". The interior to exterior difference is taken and the corresponding point is selected on the bottom of the graph given below. The air to interior difference is selected on the vertical axis of graph. Curve is chosen from these two points.