building mass

The principle of the thermal storage in building mass (TSBM) is storing thermal energy in building thermal mass, such as concrete slab, at night and discharging thermal energy naturally in daytime. It is expected that the thermal storage will be effective for reducing the heating load at the beginning of the operation in a cold region. Adding to that, the indoor thermal environment will improve because it heats up the cold floor slab directly. The simulation model was constituted to recreate features of TSBM, which were observed in a field survey in an office building.

This research investigates the effect of integrating solar radiation, internal building mass, thermal insulation and natural ventilation on building thermal performance. A field study and a computer simulation were conducted on the Beliveau house located in Blacksburg- Virginia. The house designer implemented several new ideas for integrating solar radiation, thermal mass, thermal insulation, and air ventilation to conserve energy. The goal of this study is to investigate the relationships between these design variables.