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Thermal inside
outside
mass
TTC = 43.8
Thermal
outside inside
mass
TTC = 7.8
Source: Givoni
Diurnal Heat Capacity (DHC)
• Determines the capacity of the interior thermal mass to absorb solar energy
penetrating through the windows, thus by passing the modifying effect of the
walls and the roof, and to release the heat to the interior during the night
hours.
• Also determines the effective capacity of a building ventilated at night and
closed during daytime hours to store nocturnal “cold energy”
• These effects depend mainly on the properties of the layer directly exposed to
the interior air
• Expresses the effective product of heat capacity of that exposed layer and the
conductivity of that materials
• the layers which are farther away from interior space have small effect
• DHC is of particular importance in direct gain passive solar heating and in night
ventilative cooling of buildings.
• Unit is Wh/C or Btu/F
•Higher density matrials have
larger values for DHC for
comparable thickness
1. Consider a dark wall with absortivity a = 0.70, exposed to solar radiation I = 600 W/m2
(190 Btu/hr sq ft), an outdoor air temperature Ta = 30oC (86oF) and wind speed of 3.5
m/s (700fpm) under a clear sky in an arid region (LWR = 2oC [3.6oF]). Find sol-air temp.
ans 49, 120
Repeat for dark wall with wind speed of 1.8 m/s. Find sol-air temp. ans 60C, 140
2. Consider a white wall with absortivity a = 0.25, exposed to solar radiation I = 600 W/m2
(190 Btu/hr sq ft), an outdoor air temperature Ta = 30oC (86oF) and wind speed of 3.5
m/s (700fpm) under a clear sky in an arid region (LWR = 2oC [3.6oF]). Find sol-air temp.
ans 35.5
Repeat for white wall with wind speed of 1.8 m/s. Find sol-air temp. ans 39.5
Time lag and decrement factor
• Diurnal variation produce an approximately repetitive 24 hr cycle of increasing and
decreasing temperature
• Effect – in hot period, heat flows from the environment into the building (where some of it is
stored) and in night, the heat flow is reversed – periodic heat flow
• In morning, heat enter the outer surface (wall)
• Wall absorbs certain heat – depends on specific heat capacity
• Increase of internal temperature will be delayed – time lag
• Before reaching the maximum of outdoor temperature, wall starts dissipating heat to the
outside – decrement factor
Thermal lag
• Thermal lag describes a material's thermal mass in terms of
time.
• A material with high thermal mass (high heat capacity and low
conductivity) will have a high thermal lag.
• In effect the addition of (or removal of) energy from one side
of the mass 'lags' with respect to the other side.
• Thermal lag can be a useful feature, as for instance an outer
brick wall on the Sunny Sunset side of a house in Winter
would radiate its heat into the property in the evening, aiding
with heating.
•
• Temperature damping is a characteristic of mass construction that describes the way exterior
temperatures and heat flows affect the interior of a building. For example, in the summertime, the
temperature on the outside surface of a wall fluctuates widely, from a high temperature during the
sunny midday to a low temperature in the middle of the night. This can be thought of as a
temperature "wave." The inside surface of the wall, however, will experience a much smaller
temperature fluctuation or wave. The wall "damps," or reduces, the amplitude of the temperature
wave. The narrower temperature fluctuation on the interior means that the cooling loads are
lower, and the inside of the building is more comfortable. The damping depends on both the
insulation and the heat capacity of the construction. For two walls with the same insulation, the
more massive wall will display greater temperature damping characteristics.
• Another result of thermal mass is that the time of peak temperatures and heat gains on the
interior is delayed, compared to the peak times on the exterior. This phenomenon is called thermal
lag. With concrete and masonry walls, the time of highest interior temperature will be three to
eight or more hours later than the time of highest exterior temperatures. As a result, peak cooling
loads are delayed to cooler times of the day when the air conditioning equipment operates more
efficiently, or when the building is unoccupied and not air conditioned at all.
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