The Time Scales of Heat: Leveraging the Thermal Capacity of Existing Structures to Passively Cool Buildings
Name
thld_a_00799.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.36 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
0627b5ca1bc2cbf2b2c4495345283612
Author(s)
Alvarez, Eduardo Gascón
Rebbagondla, Jaya Manideep
Mueller, Caitlin T
Norford, Leslie K
Date Issued
May 1, 2023
Journal
Thresholds
Publisher
MIT Press
Citation
Eduardo Gascón Alvarez, Jaya Manideep Rebbagondla, Caitlin T. Mueller, Leslie K. Norford; The Time Scales of Heat: Leveraging the Thermal Capacity of Existing Structures to Passively Cool Buildings. Thresholds 2023; (51): 162–163.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
During the summer of 2020, amid the COVID-19 lockdown, the authors conducted an experiment to test the validity of a thermal mass cooling strategy commonly found in vernacular architecture in hot-dry climates. Indoor temperatures of a concrete-frame graduate housing dormitory were measured and compared with the outdoor values of a typical hot summer week in Boston. Thanks to the ceiling slab’s ability to absorb heat during the day and release it at night, indoor temperature fluctuations were significantly flattened, reducing the hottest outdoor temperature peaks from 95.9ºF (35.5ºC) to 82.4ºF (28ºC). Additionally both the exterior layer of insulation, which exposed the concrete slab uniquely to the indoor space, and adequate control of the ventilation schedule, which increased the nighttime flush of the accumulated heat, proved indispensable in achieving these comfortable conditions.
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1162/thld_a_00799
