Masonry Magazine July 2011 Page. 27
MASONRY THERMAL MASS
Masonry walls provide significant energy savings due to their thermal characteristics (described by R-value or U-factor) as well as the thermal mass (heat capacity) properties of the wall assembly. Because of its comparatively high density and specific heat, masonry provides effective thermal storage. Masonry walls remain warm or cool long after the heat or air conditioning has shut off. This inherent quality reduces peak heating and cooling loads, moderates indoor temperature swings, and shifts heating and cooling loads to off-peak hours (see Figure 1). Due to these significant benefits of thermal mass, concrete masonry buildings can provide similar energy performance to more heavily insulated frame buildings.
Although in general higher R-values reduce heat flow through a building element, you can quickly reach a point where R-values have a diminishing impact upon the overall building envelope energy use. Adding excessive amounts of insulation to a mass wall, for example, is not cost-effective for most nonresidential buildings in the northwest. Paybacks periods for the building owner are far too long. It makes more sense to invest in energy efficiency measures other than wall insulation.
What is a mass wall?
Since national and northwest energy codes provide different requirements for mass walls, the question can be asked, what is the definition of a "mass wall?" The 2010 Oregon Energy Code and 2009 IECC contain the following definition:
"Mass walls shall include walls weighing at least (1) 35 pounds per square foot of wall surface area or (2) 25 pounds per square foot of wall surface area if the material weight is not more than 120 pounds per cubic foot."
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