Thermal Mass Flooring For Passive Solar Shed

A material that has thermal mass is one that has the capacity to absorb store and release the sun s heat energy its density and levels of conductivity help to keep the internal temperature of a building stable.

Thermal mass flooring for passive solar shed.

I was planning on an engineered wood floor but my builder pointed out that this would prevent the sun from heating the slab. I am building a home that will use a combination of a mini split and passive solar in the pacific northwest. Thermal mass is another vital and complimentary component of passive solar design. Internally the concrete slab and brick walls provide thermal mass to stabilise temperatures all year round and the long roof extends out over the car port at the west side of the house providing additional shading from the hot afternoon sun in the summer.

Very high levels of thermal mass e g. My question is about flooring. Greater quantities of both thermal mass and passive heating and cooling are required to moderate temperature cycles up to one week e g. The sketch below shows the effect of high thermal mass on a building.

Photo gallery is packed with images commentary and our free htm home tour video. Introduction to high thermal mass pragmatic design low tech functions and materials. For thermal mass it has a concrete slab floor with insulation underneath. In simple terms a passive solar home collects heat as the sun shines through south facing windows and retains it in materials that store heat known as thermal mass.

The share of the home s heating load that the passive solar design can meet is called the passive solar fraction and depends on the area of glazing and the amount of thermal mass. Thickness concrete slab floors should be 100 200mm thick for the best performance while thermal mass walls should be 100 150mm thick. Objects that have thermal mass have inherent qualities for both heating and cooling. He suggests a stained concrete floor or tile.

Flooring materials for passive solar floor slab designs where direct solar gain and passive solar heat storage are desired. Dry stack surface bonding cement construction photos and some block layout sketches. Flooring choices for use over concrete slabs using thermal mass what finish flooring materials are best to use over a concrete floor slab to retain the thermal mass properties of the slab. Questions answers about how to choose a finish floor to be installed over a.

Thermal mass is a property that enables building materials to absorb store and later release significant amounts of heat. Earth covered buildings can even out summer winter ranges if well designed. Htm passive solar ebook table of contents. A solar passive shed house in the country.

This is very important in a passive house in terms of heat control from solar gain as it moderates temperature fluctuations. Welcome to world headquarters scott s current and back off i m still working on it conversion of an old existing garden shed to a cozy passive solar and some wood heated design office.