[GBlist] Re: thermal mass

[Speireag Alden <Joshua.M.Alden.91@alum.dartmouth.org>]

Sgrìobh Matthew Weinreb:

>If I understand correctly - in a 'moderate' climate (where you need heating
>for about 5 months of the year and the summer is HOT, but not hot enough
>that aircon or an equivalent is really needed..) a thermal mass interior of
>say 200mm thickness surrounded by an insulating thickness of say 200mm would
>be the ideal scenario -- ?  Perhaps a solid concrete wall insulated from the
>foundation and the exterior?

     I don't know about "ideal", but I think that would work fine.  In 
fact, I think it would work fine in just about any climate, for a 
continuously occupied structure.

     A note for comfort:  thermal mass will moderate temperature 
swings, but it doesn't feel comfortable to the touch unless you heat 
it.  A rock doesn't feel warm until it's above 90°F.  So if you don't 
heat a massive floor, you'll want throw rugs or slippers.

-Speireag.
-- 
Speireag Alden, aka Joshua Macdonald Alden

...the last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or 
plant: 'What good is it?' --Aldo Leopold, _A Sand County Almanac_ 

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