Passive Solar Thermal Mass Flooring

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.

Passive solar thermal mass flooring.

Introduction to high thermal mass pragmatic design low tech functions and materials. I am building a home that will use a combination of a mini split and passive solar in the pacific northwest. But there are other eco friendly flooring options that are comfortable don t impede the absorption of solar radiation for passive heating. Although thermal mass is often in the form of a concrete floor there are other ways to incorporate it into a home such as a wall that receives lots of sun or.

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. Thickness concrete slab floors should be 100 200mm thick for the best performance while thermal mass walls should be 100 150mm thick. 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. Your passive solar design expert can optimise the amount and placement of both glazing and thermal mass by using hour by hour simulations of the design.

For thermal mass it has a concrete slab floor with insulation underneath. Floor plans features several functional basic layouts and commentary on design choices. I was planning on an engineered wood floor but my builder pointed out that this would prevent the sun from heating the slab. 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.

My question is about flooring. Passive solar heat collection from south facing windows can be absorbed and stored in thermal mass like concrete floors. More information can be found here on using thermal mass for heating and cooling floor requirements to provide thermal mass for heating wall requirements to provide thermal mass for heating water as a thermal mass. Thermal mass is another vital and complimentary component of passive solar design.

Questions answers about how to choose a finish floor to be installed over a. Objects that have thermal mass have inherent qualities for both heating and cooling. Htm passive solar ebook table of contents. 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. Find out more in the ecohome building guide. A properly designed passive solar system can reap energy savings for a home because the thermal mass can store excess heat during the day and allow it to offset nighttime heating loads.