Thermal Mass Floor Concrete

Thermal mass for limiting summertime overheating.

Thermal mass floor concrete.

Thermal mass is ideally placed within a building where it is shielded from direct solar gain but exposed to the building occupants. The second consideration is the high thermal mass of concrete slabs which applies similarly to walls and floors or wherever concrete is used within the thermal envelope. Concrete has a relatively high thermal mass meaning that it takes a long time to respond to changes in ambient temperature. This is typically achieved through its ability to absorb unwanted heat during the day and then release it at night with the help of ventilation from cool night air.

A large concrete slab floor can moderate temperatures in the rest of the building. The picture above shows a concrete floor we re about to pour with radiant heating tubes installed. When the thermal mass of the concrete is heated the warm slab acts as a radiator distributing even heat throughout the structure. The money used for a carpet could for example instead be spent on polishing an exposed concrete floor.

Whatever the building type the use of thermal mass requires a basic working knowledge of its function and how best to use it. Probably the simplest form of thermal mass is a concrete slab floor. Be 100 200 mm thick. For maximum heat absorption the surface should.

Be exposed or be covered with a high density material such as tile or slate. Floor requirements to provide thermal mass for heating a concrete slab floor provides excellent thermal mass. Questions answers about how to choose a finish floor to be installed over a. It is therefore most commonly associated with solid concrete floor slabs in naturally ventilated or low energy mechanically ventilated buildings where the concrete soffit is left exposed to the occupied space.

Building thermal mass into your new home or renovation doesn t have to increase costs. Have a dark colour or a textured or matt finish. Flooring materials for passive solar floor slab designs where direct solar gain and passive solar heat storage are desired. This yields 0 2 times 13 300 equals 2 660 btus to raise the temperature of the entire wall just 1 degree fahrenheit.

Thermal mass is a concept in building design that describes how the mass of the building provides inertia against internal temperature fluctuations.