Active Thermal Mass Solutions

Sustainable green buildings

Thermal mass can be used very simply by having large surface areas of exposed mass such as concrete ceilings, block walls and tiled floors. Having high passive thermal mass will help a room rapidly changing in temperature during the day. Architects and designers need to be careful not to have too many hard exposed surfaces as this may result in acoustic problems

Passive thermal mass can be used in conjunction with natural ventilation. During unoccupied periods the windows in buildings can be left open at night in the summer, allowing the building to cool. A consideration when using natural ventilation is to ensure openings do not present a security problem or enable birds or animals to enter.

Such techniques are suited to low occupancy and buildings where it is acceptable for the temperature to float upwards as the day progresses. The limitations of the passive thermal mass approach is during long spells of sustained hot weather the building may overheat. If the building does get excessively warm it either takes a change in the weather or the auxilary cooling for the building to to reduce to an acceptable temperature.

Passive Thermal Mass

Having high passive thermal mass will help a room rapidly changing in temperature during the day

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For further information on thermal mass view concrete centre, termodeck.com, www.termodeck.com, mes, cibse journal, university east  anglia website or strangbetong web site. Information on air handling, ventilation, heating, cooling, comfort, design teams, ductwork, sustainable systems, and low energy building design is available from. CIBSE,  ASHRAE, Mitsubushi, Daikin, IES, or good architects, building services engineers, quantity surveyors, universities, structural engineersand hvac engineers.