Heavy mass materials used in building structures and architecture can
significantly affect building energy performance and occupant comfort. The
purpose of this study was to investigate if thermal mass can improve the
internal environment of a building, resulting in lower energy requirements
from the mechanical systems. The study was focused on passive building energy
performance and compared annual space heating and cooling energy requirements
for an office building in Belgrade with several different applications of
thermal mass. A three-dimensional building model was generated to represent a
typical office building. Building shape, orientation, glazing to wall ratio,
envelope insulation thickness, and indoor design conditions were held
constant while location and thickness of building mass (concrete) was varied
between cases in a series of energy simulations. The results were compared
and discussed in terms of the building space heating and cooling energy and
demand affected by thermal mass. The simulation results indicated that with
addition of thermal mass to the building envelope and structure: 100% of all
simulated cases experienced reduced annual space heating energy requirements,
67% of all simulated cases experienced reduced annual space cooling energy
requirements, 83% of all simulated cases experienced reduced peak space
heating demand and 50% of all simulated cases experienced reduced peak space
cooling demand. The study demonstrated that there exists a potential for
reducing space heating and cooling energy requirements with heavy mass
construction in the analyzed climate region (Belgrade, Serbia).
Thermal mass impact on energy performance of a low, medium and heavy mass building in Belgrade
