Parametric study of thermal mass property of concrete buildings in US climate zones

Ghoreishi, Amir; Ali, Mir M.

doi:10.1080/00038628.2012.729310

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The use of TM can be effective in reducing the total amount of energy and maintaining the thermal comfort levels for the users [23,26,[30][31][32]. TM is the most functional in hot weather when outdoor temperatures soar sharply [31] or in hot summer in cooler regions [25,26,28,[33][34][35]. Kumar [36] argued that the use of thermal mass is not beneficial only in summer but also in the composite climate of India in winter.…”

Section: Significance Of Thermal Mass In Buildingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

User Thermal Comfort in Historic Buildings: Evaluation of the Potential of Thermal Mass, Orientation, Evaporative Cooling and Ventilation

et al. 2020

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The study investigated the level of thermal comfort in historical buildings located at a relatively high altitude in the Arabian Desert of Saudi Arabia. The study focused on the impact of the use of thermal mass and orientation on the level of thermal performance at Shubra and Boqri Palaces. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were used in this study, including a questionnaire interview with architecture experts living at the relatively high altitude of Taif city, to obtain data and information from local experts. The computer software TAS EDSL was used along with on-site equipment, such as thermal imaging cameras and data loggers, to observe the physical conditions of the building in terms of its thermal performance. The study revealed that the experts’ age and years of experience were important aspects while collecting data from them during the survey. The use of thermal mass had a slight impact on the indoor air temperature as well as the energy consumption, but it helped in providing thermal comfort. Use of ventilation can improve thermal comfort level. Evaporative cooling technique has a considerable impact on reducing indoor air temperature with 4 °C drop, improving the thermal comfort sensation level. The novelty of this work is that, it links the outcomes of qualitative results of experts with field monitoring as well as computer modelling. This can contribute as method to accurately collect data in similar case studies.

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Section: Significance Of Thermal Mass In Buildingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

User Thermal Comfort in Historic Buildings: Evaluation of the Potential of Thermal Mass, Orientation, Evaporative Cooling and Ventilation

et al. 2020

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“…As a result, the floor surface temperature for Concrete + carpet varies within a wider range (<2 °C) than that for Bare concrete (<1 °C). The consistent floor surface temperature for Bare concrete is due to concrete's low thermal diffusivity [40] and leads to a high thermal time constant [14,41]. These physical attributes help keep the floor surface temperature constantly lower than the zone air temperature during the GTA period (i.e., noon-6 PM), resulting in a higher demand flexibility…”

Section: Floor Surface Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, the floor surface temperature for Concrete + carpet varies within a wider range (<2 • C) than that for Bare concrete (<1 • C). The consistent floor surface temperature for Bare concrete is due to concrete's low thermal diffusivity [40] and leads to a high thermal time constant [14,41].…”

Section: Floor Surface Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

How Can Floor Covering Influence Buildings’ Demand Flexibility?

et al. 2021

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Although the thermal mass of floors in buildings has been demonstrated to help shift cooling load, there is still a lack of information about how floor covering can influence the floor’s load shifting capability and buildings’ demand flexibility. To fill this gap, we estimated demand flexibility based on the daily peak cooling load reduction for different floor configurations and regions, using EnergyPlus simulations. As a demand response strategy, we used precooling and global temperature adjustment. The result demonstrated an adverse impact of floor covering on the building’s demand flexibility. Specifically, under the same demand response strategy, the daily peak cooling load reductions were up to 20–34% for a concrete floor whereas they were only 17–29% for a carpet-covered concrete floor. This is because floor covering hinders convective coupling between the concrete floor surface and the zone air and reduces radiative heat transfer between the concrete floor surface and the surrounding environment. In hot climates such as Phoenix, floor covering almost negated the concrete floor’s load shifting capability and yielded low demand flexibility as a wood floor, representing low thermal mass. Sensitivity analyses showed that floor covering’s effects can be more profound with a larger carpet-covered area, a greater temperature adjustment depth, or a higher radiant heat gain. With this effect ignored for a given building, its demand flexibility would be overestimated, which could prevent grid operators from obtaining sufficient demand flexibility to maintain a grid. Our findings also imply that for more efficient grid-interactive buildings, a traditional standard for floor design could be modified with increasing renewable penetration.

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“…Many authors have considered the advantages and drawbacks of changing the building thermal mass. Ghoreishi and Ali (2013) state that a heavyweight thermal mass can smooth sharp oscillations of indoor temperature by guaranteeing a stable room temperature. During heating seasons, the stored heat will be released in the conditioned space; whereas, during the cooling seasons, implemented night ventilation dissipates the heat stored.…”

Section: Simulation Planmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practical support for evaluating efficiency factors of a space heating system in cold climates

Brembilla

Vuolle²,

Östin

et al. 2017

Energy Efficiency

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Plenty of technical norms, included in the EPBD umbrella, assesses the performance of buildings or its sub-systems in terms of efficiency. In particular, EN 15316 and its sub-sections determine the efficiency factors of a space heating system. This paper focuses on the estimation of efficiency factors for hydronic panel radiators. The assessment of efficiency factors occurs by evaluating the amount of heat emitted from the heat emitter and the thermal losses towards building envelope. A factor that influences the heat emitted is the location of radiator connection pipes. Connection pipes can be located on opposite side or at the same side of the radiator. To better estimate the heat emitted from the radiator with different location of connection pipes, a transient model with multiple storage elements is implemented in a commercial building simulation software and validated versus available experimental measurements. Sensitivity analysis encompasses the variations of heat losses due to the building location in different climates, the changing of the active thermal mass and the type of radiator local control. The final outcome of this paper is a practical support where designers and researchers can easily assess the efficiency factors for space heating system equipped with hydronic panel radiators of buildings located in Sweden. As main results, (i) the efficiency factor for control is higher in Northern climates (Luleå) than in Southern climates (Gothenburg), (ii) heavy-weight active thermal masses allow higher efficiency factors than light active thermal masses, and (iii) connection pipes located on the same side of the hydronic panel radiator enable higher efficiency factors than pipes located on opposite side.

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Parametric study of thermal mass property of concrete buildings in US climate zones

Cited by 17 publications

References 8 publications

User Thermal Comfort in Historic Buildings: Evaluation of the Potential of Thermal Mass, Orientation, Evaporative Cooling and Ventilation

User Thermal Comfort in Historic Buildings: Evaluation of the Potential of Thermal Mass, Orientation, Evaporative Cooling and Ventilation

How Can Floor Covering Influence Buildings’ Demand Flexibility?

Practical support for evaluating efficiency factors of a space heating system in cold climates

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