Publication
Title
Thermal inertia in buildings : a review of impacts across climate and building use
Author
Abstract
A building with a great amount of thermal mass is able to time-shift and flatten out heat flow fluctuations; this is referred to as the thermal inertia of a building. This paper presents a literature review focussing on the reported impacts of building thermal inertia on thermal comfort and energy use for space heating and cooling. A wide range in research methods, building types and climatic conditions considered by the respective authors, contributes to a large spread in research outcomes. As a general tendency it can be concluded that for most buildings and climates, higher amounts of thermal mass at the inner side of the thermal insulation appear to be beneficial with regard to improving thermal comfort and reducing the energy demand. The impact on energy demand is however relatively small. With an order of magnitude of a few percent for most cases, other design parameters such as thermal insulation of the building envelope and solar heat gains will be more significant. The paper reviews some practical applications exploiting the effect of thermal inertia in design and operation of HVAC systems, and concludes with a discussion on the apparent discrepancy in simulation outcomes and suggestions for further research.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Renewable and sustainable energy reviews. - Oxford, 1997, currens
Publication
Oxford : Pergamon-elsevier science ltd , 2018
ISSN
1364-0321 [print]
1879-0690 [online]
DOI
10.1016/J.RSER.2017.08.083
Volume/pages
82 :3 (2018) , p. 2300-2318
ISI
000418574800023
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 17.01.2018
Last edited 04.03.2024
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