Thermal Mass Discussion Forum

Welcome to the ORNL BTC Thermal Mass Discussion Forum. Modern, massive building envelope technologies (masonry and concrete systems) are gaining wide acceptance by builders around the world. In certain climates, massive building envelopes such as ceramic masonry, concrete, earth, and insulating concrete forms (ICFs) can be one of the most effective ways of reducing building heating and cooling loads. In southern and central Europe, the vast majority of residential buildings have been built using massive wall technologies. For centuries, massive building materials have been making life without air conditioners relatively comfortable even in countries with hot climates, such as Spain, Italy, or Greece. Several comparative studies have shown that in some US locations, heating and cooling energy demands in buildings containing massive walls can be lower than those in similar buildings constructed using lightweight wall technologies.

This forum was created to help exchange information, technical ideas, and concerns related to the application of thermal mass in buildings. This is a part of the ORNL BTC Advanced Wall Research Program. Once a month our server will be cleared. At that time we will try to comment on the most interesting ideas, and address concerns and questions. We would like to start the Thermal Mass Discussion Forum with ten presentations from the Thermal Mass Workshop which was organized in December 2001 during the VIII Building Thermal Envelops Conference. This workshop gathered US and international building science experts. The presentations being offered, are discussing several research studies focused on energy aspects of the application of massive building components. Energy performance data on several massive technologies is presented as well. In addition, you can find a very interesting overview of European concrete and masonry technologies.

We hope these presentations will start our discussion and comments. For those who would like to learn more about dynamic energy performance of building components we offer several research papers. In the future we will provide links to interesting related Web sites with the application of thermal mass.

A few reasons to use this forum:

• Builders using massive technologies will have a chance to express their opinions on construction costs, labor intensiveness, and energy performance of their buildings versus conventional ones.
• Several novel massive building envelope technologies will have a chance to be presented.
• Passive solar architects will have a chance to demonstrate how simple it is to use thermal mass in residential buildings.
• Insulation material producers will learn that thermal mass and insulation are natural allies. The better a building is insulated, the higher are the chances for energy savings (thermal mass will be much more energy efficient than lightweight building envelope technologies).
• Structural engineers will discuss the advantages of massive construction over traditional wood-framed assemblies in regions of frequent hurricanes or seismic zones.
• Potential energy and CO2 emission savings in buildings using thermal mass will be discussed.
• Designers will have a chance to exchange information on which technologies and material configurations are most energy efficient.