Meteorological Remote Sensing Technologies for Passive Radiative Cooling Informatics: A Comprehensive Review

Passive radiative cooling performance is influenced by material properties and meteorological conditions. A more transparent atmospheric window reduces downwelling longwave radiation, thereby increasing cooling power and reducing surface temperature. Atmospheric emissions can be quantified using sky emissivity or sky temperature, both of which can be parameterized by ambient temperature, humidity, and cloudiness. This study first reviews the historical development of clear-sky and cloudy-sky temperature models, highlighting the challenges in establishing a universal sky temperature model. It then examines state-of-the-art meteorological remote sensing technologies and assesses their roles in monitoring and acquiring radiative cooling data. As radiative cooling materials and systems hold strong potential for building energy conservation and their effectiveness is highly weather-dependent, this study investigates how radiative cooling informatics enhances quantitative building energy simulations, assessments, and management.