Southwest thermal mass study, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico. Observation and prediction of the heating season thermal mass effect for eight test buildings with and without windows. Research Phase II, January 1983-June 1983

Technical Report · Sat Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1984

OSTI ID:6517530

Robertson, D K

Eight one-room test buildings, 6.1 m square and 2.3 m high inside, were constructed on a high desert site near Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico, to study the influence of wall dynamic heat transfer characteristics on building heating energy requirements (such influence is sometimes called the thermal mass effect). The buildings are nominally identical except for the walls, and are instrumented to record building component temperatures and heat fluxes; indoor temperature, humidity, globe temperature, and interior surface temperatures; and outdoor weather, solar data, and ground temperatures. This report presents the results from analysis of heating season data for one-and-a-half heating seasons. For the first heating season, the buildings were windowless; for the last half, windows were added to most of the buildings, and insulation was added to one massive building. The simplified analysis methodology developed in an earlier technical report, consisting of comparisons of each building's energy use with that of a massive, windowless reference building, was utilized. It was found, as before, that deviations from proportionality to the massive building (energy use in excess of steady-state predictions using average weather data) result from increased average interior temperature during those days when heating is required for part of the day. Specifically, it was found that the following increased the percentage effect: lack of envelope thermal mass, increased solar gain to the interior, and increased wall R-value. The maximum observed effect was 5.3% +- 2% excess energy use in the most lightweight building. A method was developed to evaluate the effect for any set of weather conditions (with insolation levels similar to New Mexico). It was found that the percentage effect varied significantly with location in New Mexico and with the year of the heating season. The maximum calculated effect, for the lightest building in the mildest climate, was greater than 12%.

• Research Organization: New Mexico Univ., Albuquerque (USA). New Mexico Energy Research and Development Inst.
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6517530
• Report Number(s): NMERDI-2-67-1135/11; ON: DE85002049
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140901* -- Solar Thermal Utilization-- Space Heating & Cooling
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320100 -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Buildings
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
BUILDINGS
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
ENERGY TRANSFER
HEAT FLUX
HEAT TRANSFER
HEATING
HUMIDITY
MASS
TEST FACILITIES
THERMAL ANALYSIS
THERMAL MASS