Thermal Mass: The Secret to Energy Efficient Buildings
Channel: The Sustainable Construction Zone
Date: 2024-03-18

A short video explaining the concept of thermal mass, and why it's an important factor in energy efficiency of buildings.

The choice of materials can make or break the comfort of a building. If you’ve ever been camping, you’ll know that a tent heats up quickly during the day and cools down just as fast at night. A concrete building, on the other hand, stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Why is that?

The answer is thermal mass. Thermal mass is a property of a material to absorb, store, and release heat. 

Factors that determine this include the specific heat capacity, or the ability of the material to store heat, the density or weight per unit volume of the material, and it’s thermal conductivity, which is the ease with which heat can travel through it.

During the day, heat is absorbed, whereas at night, when temperatures are cooler, materials with high thermal mass release heat.

By alternately storing and releasing heat, materials with high thermal mass help smooth out extremes in daytime temperatures, reducing the need for heating and cooling


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