Applied Energy 89 (2012) 430–442

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Applied Energy
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Effect of thermal mass on performance of insulated building walls and the concept
of energy savings potential
Sami A. Al-Sanea a,⇑, M.F. Zedan a, S.N. Al-Hussain b
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
b
SABIC’s Technology and Innovation (T&I) Division, P.O. Box 42503, Riyadh 11551, Saudi Arabia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Effects of varying amount and location of thermal mass on dynamic heat-transfer characteristics of insu-
Received 31 January 2011 lated building walls with same nominal resistance (Rn-value) are investigated numerically under steady
Received in revised form 31 July 2011 periodic conditions using climatic data of Riyadh. Concepts of ‘‘thermal-mass energy-savings potential’’
Accepted 7 August 2011
(D) and ‘‘critical thermal-mass thickness’’ (Lmas,cr) are developed and utilized in order to determine ther-
Available online 6 September 2011
mal mass thickness (Lmas) required for a selected desirable percentage of energy savings. Results show
that daily transmission loads are not affected by Lmas for representative days of months in summer
Keywords:
and winter. However, for moderate months, daily cooling and heating transmission loads decrease with
Thermal mass
Heat transfer characteristics
increasing Lmas and either diminish to zero or be reduced asymptotically to constant values. For all
Insulated building walls months, peak transmission loads and decrement factor decrease, while time lag increases, with increas-
Steady periodic conditions ing Lmas. For a given Lmas, a wall with outside insulation gives better overall performance than a wall with
Energy savings potential inside insulation. While Rn-value is constant, wall dynamic resistance (Rd-value) changes and represents
actual variations in transmission loads. For D in the range 70–99%, Lmas,cr ranges between 6 and 30 cm by
using heavyweight concrete. It is found that maximum savings in yearly cooling and heating transmission
loads are about 17% and 35%, respectively, as a result of optimizing Lmas for same Rn-value. It is recom-
mended that building walls should contain Lmas,cr that corresponds to high D (95%) and with insulation
placed on outside for applications with continuously operating year-round AC.
Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction and damp down large fluctuations in temperature. As such, the

The demand for electricity is increasing as a result of increasing
population, expansion and development plans, and maintaining a
good indoor thermal comfort conditions. Besides, the increasing
cost of energy and adverse impact on the environment by energy
production plants, all contribute to the need to find means to sub-
stantially reduce energy consumption. Buildings, through cooling
and heating requirements, are major contributors to energy con-
sumption worldwide. It is estimated that about two-thirds of the
electric energy generated in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is used
in buildings and two-thirds of that is used by air-conditioning
(AC) equipment [1]. A major part of the energy consumed by AC
is due to heat transmission through the outer walls. Therefore,
reducing this load becomes one of the most effective energy con-
servation measures in buildings. The use of special building mate-
rials, thermal insulation, as well as employing good design
practices should serve this objective.
Insulated building walls are integrated parts of a building enve-
lope. They protect the inner space from extreme weather conditions
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +966 1 4676682; fax: +966 1 4676652.
E-mail address: sanea@ksu.edu.sa (S.A. Al-Sanea).
building envelope should provide the necessary thermal comfort
for the occupants as well as reduce energy consumption require-
ments for cooling and heating. This is usually done through increas-
ing thermal resistance (R-value) of this envelope and, hence,
reducing transmission loads. Therefore, addition of thermal insula-
tion is important, particularly in regions with extreme climates. Of
importance too is to provide means to increase time lag and de-
crease decrement factor through increasing thermal energy storage
capability. The latter is usually regulated through thermal mass in
the building envelope.
Using heavy thermal masses in building walls is well known in
moderate climates (e.g. Mediterranean climate) as means of regu-
lating indoor temperature through nighttime natural ventilation.
However, such an advantage cannot be utilized in dusty climates
in which reliance is made on the AC equipment (for cooling and
heating) for almost all days of the year. While thermal mass con-
trols the amount and rate of heat storage in building components
and reduces temperature fluctuations and increases time lag, it
does not often preclude the need for using thermal insulation.
Accordingly, two important issues must be dealt with; firstly,
means of increasing the R-value usually by adding thermal insula-
tion, and secondly, means of increasing thermal energy storage

0306-2619/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.08.009
 S.A. Al-Sanea et al. / Applied Energy 89 (2012) 430–442
Nomenclature
c specific heat capacity (J/kg K)
df decrement factor
hc,i convection coefficient at inside surface (W/m2 K)
hc,o convective coefficient at outside surface (W/m2 K)
hi combined convection and radiation coefficient at inside
surface (W/m2 K)
Is solar radiation flux (W/m2)
k thermal conductivity (W/m K)
L layer thickness (m)
Lins insulation thickness (m)
Lmas thermal mass (masonry) thickness (m)
Lmas,cr critical thermal mass thickness (m)
N number of layers
n number of nodes
Qi total transmission load (kW h/m2 day) or (kW h/m2 yr)
qc,o outside convection heat transfer rate (W/m2)
qi instantaneous transmission load (W/m2)
qpeak peak transmission load (W/m2)
qr,o long wave radiation exchange (W/m2)
qst rate of energy stored
Rd, Rn dynamic and nominal (static) thermal resistances
(m2 K/W)
T temperature
capability typically by increasing thermal mass. Insulation materi-
als, while they increase R-value, are not commonly been looked
upon as elements that can increase time lag and decrease decre-
ment factor; these are usually associated with thermal mass. On
the other hand, thermal masses, while they increase energy storage
capability, are not commonly been looked upon as materials that
can effect substantial reduction in daily transmission load; the lat-
ter is commonly associated with thermal insulation. These com-
mon beliefs are based upon facts that increasing amount of mass
would not much increase the R-value and increasing amount of
insulation would not much increase energy storage capability. This
view is simply based upon thermal properties and behavior of
building and insulation materials under static (steady state) condi-
tions. Studies under dynamic conditions have shown that these is-
sues are rather complicated and interactive; both insulation and
thermal mass have wider effects on thermal characteristics than
commonly believed. There are indeed common effects between
insulation and thermal mass as well as much interaction between
them with regard to their amounts and relative locations within
the building structure as can be appreciated next in the literature
review.
Effects of climatic conditions and operating conditions of AC
equipment add to the complexity of the problem. Building ele-
ments are, in general, subjected to either steady periodic condi-
tions or initial transient conditions both of which are dynamic in
nature. Steady periodic conditions are often reached after a suffi-
ciently long time from start of AC operation and when initial tran-
sient effects subside. Practically, steady periodic conditions take
place when daily climatic conditions prevail in a periodic manner,
or approximately so, and when AC system operates continuously.
Short intermittent periods of AC shutdown, as controlled by ther-
mostat settings, should not upset reaching steady periodic condi-
tions. Initial transient conditions, on the other hand, often prevail
before reaching steady periodic behavior and take place when AC
system is shutdown for prolonged periods of time. Thermal charac-
teristics and roles played by insulation and thermal mass are so
much dependent on climatic conditions and operating conditions
of AC equipment.
431
Tf,i indoor air temperature (°C)
Tf,o outdoor air temperature (°C)
t time (s or h)
tlag time lag (h)
x coordinate distance normal to wall surface (m)
Greek letters
a thermal diffusivity (m2/s)
D thermal-mass transmission-load-savings potential (%)
Dt time step (s)
Dx internodal distance (m)
k surface absorptivity of solar radiation
q density (kg/m3)
Subscripts
c cooling or convection
f fluid (ambient)
h heating
i inside surface or nodal point
j layer number
N outside layer
o outside
1 inside layer or nodal point 1
The main objective of the present study is to investigate effects
of thermal mass on transmission loads, energy storage rate, dy-
namic thermal resistance, time lag, and decrement factor in build-
ing walls for same Rn-value. Besides, these thermal characteristics
are investigated for cases of outside and inside insulation under
steady periodic conditions (i.e. continuous operation of AC system)
using climatic data of Riyadh. Concepts of ‘‘thermal-mass energy-
savings potential’’ and ‘‘critical thermal mass’’ are introduced and
developed for the first time in order to determine the thermal mass
required for a selected desirable percentage of energy savings.
2. Previous studies
Early studies on optimum locations of insulation and concrete
layers in building walls and roofs, with the objective to obtain
conditions for best load leveling, are those of Sodha and co-
investigators in the late 1970s [2]. In their Fourier series analysis,
the authors used the sol–air temperature for a typical hot sum-
mer’s day in Delhi and ignored long wave radiation effect. The heat
flux to the inside space was evaluated for two configurations: (i)
concrete/insulation/air–gap/concrete and (ii) concrete/air–gap/
insulation/concrete. They showed that, for a given total thickness
of concrete, best load leveling was achieved when the thickness
of the outer concrete layer was as small as possible. Interchanging
position of insulation and air gap did not significantly affect opti-
mum condition for best load leveling. The air gap had no significant
effect on the time lag but reduced the heat flux markedly. Using
the same analysis, Seth et al. [3] investigated optimum distribution
of insulation and concrete in an insulation/air–gap/concrete/air–
gap/insulation (IACAI) slab and in a concrete/air–gap/insulation/
air–gap/concrete (CAIAC) slab. It was shown that, for a typical
hot summer’s day in Kuwait and for given total thicknesses of insu-
lation and concrete, the best load leveling was obtained (i) in IACAI,
when the insulation thicknesses on the outside and inside were
identical and (ii) in CAIAC when the thickness of the outside con-
crete layer was least. Of the two structures, IACAI was better from
a load leveling point of view.
432 S.A. Al-Sanea et al. / Applied Energy 89 (2012) 430–442
Zaki and Hassan [4] determined thermal performance of a two-
layered wall with periodic change of outside air temperature and
solar radiation taking into consideration effects of building materi-
als, orientation, and relative position of insulating layer. Average
heat flux was shown not to be affected by the relative position of
layers. Effect of insulation and energy storing layers upon cooling
load was investigated by Al-Turki and Zaki [5]. Analysis showed
that dispersion of insulation material within building material
was less effective than using a continuous equivalent insulation
layer placed on the outdoor facade. A whole building energy anal-
ysis, based on thermal response factor method, was performed by
Eben Saleh [6,7] to investigate effect of insulation material, thick-
ness, and arrangement on the thermal performance of buildings
in a hot–dry climate. Results showed that better performance
was achieved by locating the insulation on the outer side of build-
ing envelope.
Balaras [8] reviewed design tools for calculating cooling loads
and indoor air temperatures in buildings accounting for thermal
mass effects. The review demonstrated the effectiveness of thermal
mass in providing more comfortable indoor conditions and energy
conservation particularly for locations with large diurnal tempera-
ture swings. In general, a high mass building reduces interior air
temperature variation, increases time lag, and decreases peak load
compared to a low mass building. Keeping overall thickness and
U-value of a three-layered building envelope constant, Bojic and
Loveday [9] investigated influence of layer distribution of insula-
tion/masonry on thermal behavior. It was shown that for intermit-
tent heating, the insulation/masonry/insulation structure was
better. However, for intermittent cooling, it was preferable for
the slab to be of the masonry/insulation/masonry structure. If cool-
ing was continuous, then the slab structure did not matter. Bojic
et al. [10] investigated influence of insulation position in walls
on the cooling load in residential flats in high-rise buildings in
Hong Kong. They found that the peak cooling load was decreased
by about 7% when a 5 cm polystyrene insulation was used facing
either the inside or outside depending on the flat orientation. How-
ever, no much reduction in load was observed when the thickness
of insulation was increased above 5 cm and that of concrete above
10 cm.
Kossecka and Kosny [11] and Kossecka [12] presented concept
of ‘‘thermally equivalent wall’’ which is a plane 1-D multilayer
structure of dynamic characteristics similar to those for complex
structure in which 3-D heat flow occurs. It was shown that the re-
sponse factor, which represented heat flux at one surface due to
temperature excitation at the opposite surface, decayed relatively
quickly when the thermal mass was placed on the outside and/or
the inside of wall structures. Kossecka and Kosny [13,14] analyzed
effect of mass and insulation location on heating and cooling loads
in a continuously used residential building. They concluded that
material configuration of exterior wall could significantly affect an-
nual thermal performance depending on climate. They found that
walls with massive internal layers had better annual thermal per-
formance than those with inside insulation. However, for intermit-
tent heating and cooling, inside insulation could result in better
performance.
Al-Sanea [15] developed and applied a computer model, based
on the finite-volume implicit procedure, to evaluate dynamic ther-
mal characteristics of building walls. Concept of dynamic thermal
resistance (Rd-value) was developed in order to account for influ-
ences of wall orientation, long wave radiation exchange, thermal
energy storage, as well as nominal (static) thermal resistance
parameters. It will be shown later that this Rd-value is very much
indicative of effects of varying amount and location of thermal
mass, the main subject of the present paper. The same computer
model was utilized by Al-Sanea and Zedan [16] to study effects
of insulation location on thermal performance of building walls
under steady periodic conditions using climatic data of Riyadh.
Results showed that insulation location had a minimal effect on
daily total transmission load. However, outside insulation gave
smaller amplitude of load fluctuation and, hence, peak load in both
summer and winter for all wall orientations. Under initial transient
effects, on the other hand, Al-Sanea and Zedan [17] showed that
insulation layer location had a significant effect on instantaneous
and daily total loads. It was recommended that for spaces where
AC system is switched on and off intermittently, the insulation
should be placed on the inside. In [16,17], attention was focused
on effect of insulation/mass location for same amount of thermal
mass and insulation.
The finite difference method was used by Asan [18] and by Ozel
and Pihtili [19] to determine optimum distribution of multi insula-
tion layers in walls for maximum time lag and minimum decre-
ment factor. Al-Sanea and Zedan [20] carried out thermal
analysis of walls consisting of one, two and three layers of insula-
tion in which locations of insulation layers were varied with the
objective of achieving best overall dynamic performance under
optimum thickness of insulation. Ogoli [21] measured tempera-
tures in buildings with low and high thermal mass and showed
that materials with high mass had long time lag and moderating
effects on temperature swings and thus were effective in lowering
indoor maximum temperatures below high outdoor maxima.
Cheng et al. [22] presented results of experiments for effects of
envelope color and thermal mass and showed that use of lighter
surface color and high mass could dramatically reduce maximum
indoor temperature. However, the benefit of applying thermal
mass depended on AC operation mode and occupancy pattern.
Tsilingiris [23] used the implicit finite-difference method to
evaluate daily quasi steady-state energy losses from walls and
showed that when heating was intermittent the insulation per-
formed better when installed at the interior wall side. Tsilingiris
[24] investigated effect of space distribution of heat capacity and
thermal resistance on transient behavior of a wall exposed to har-
monically time-varying conditions. Results showed that using
large heat capacity walls with insulation at ambient side led to a
substantial increase of thermal time constant and suppression of
room temperature swings. In another study, Tsilingiris [25] fixed
wall R-value and investigated effects of spatial distribution of heat
capacity. Analysis was carried out using climatic data of Athens for
typical days in January and July, while neglecting radiation. It was
concluded that spatial distribution of heat capacity strongly influ-
enced transient wall heat flux and asymptotic approach to quasi
steady-state periodic behavior but had no effect on time-average
quasi steady-state heat flux.
Gregory et al. [26] studied impact of thermal mass on perfor-
mance of Australian residential constructions by using the com-
mercial AccuRate energy rating tool which is based on the
frequency response method. They found that thermal mass had a
dramatic impact on thermal behavior of modules studied, particu-
larly in those where mass was within a protective envelope of
insulation. Zhou et al. [27] developed a simple heat balance model
to estimate impact of external and internal thermal mass on indoor
air temperature of naturally ventilated buildings. Different walls
were compared and found that use of heavy wall with external
insulation had the lowest amplitude of indoor air temperature.
Effects of thermal mass and thermal insulation must be consid-
ered simultaneously since, under dynamic conditions, their effects
are interactive. Type, thickness, and location of thermal mass and
insulation layers are crucial parameters that affect the thermal
behavior of the building envelope. Research in the last 10 years
has concentrated more on optimization of insulation layer thick-
ness than on thermal mass. For example, Al-Sanea and Zedan
[28] determined optimum thickness of insulation (Lopt) in walls
under steady periodic conditions using the climatic data of Riyadh.
 S.A. Al-Sanea et al. / Applied Energy 89 (2012) 430–442
It was found that Lopt increases with cost of electricity, building
lifetime and inflation rate; and decreases with increasing cost of
insulation material, coefficient of performance of AC equipment
and discount rate. Wall orientation was found to have a significant
effect on thermal characteristics but a relatively smaller effect on
Lopt. Recently, Daouas [29] calculated Lopt in walls under the cli-
matic conditions of Tunisia, while Ozel [30] calculated Lopt under
the climatic conditions of Elazig, Turkey. In both studies [29,30],
the authors obtained effects of wall orientation on transmission
loads and Lopt similar to those obtained earlier by Al-Sanea and
Zedan [28].
In a recent study, Taleb and Sharples [31] assessed energy con-
sumption in an apartment complex under the climatic conditions
of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. They used DesignBuilder; a building en-
ergy simulation software package based on EnergyPlus. It was esti-
mated that by improving thermal insulation, using more efficient
glazing, and fitting external shading devices, energy consumption
reduction of over 30% could be achieved. The present authors
would like to emphasize here that additional energy savings are
possible by using nontraditional energy conservation measures
such as the newly developed design practices concerning the opti-
mum use of thermal insulation [20] and the use of optimum ther-
mal mass; the concept of the latter is developed and quantified in
the current paper.
In summary, it can be concluded that there is a growing interest
in determining optimum locations of insulation and thermal mass
layers in building walls. However, there is still a need for detailed
and systematic studies to investigate effects of thermal mass on
energy storage, transmission loads, time lag, and decrement factor.
Quantifying effects of amount and location of thermal mass on en-
ergy savings potential is obviously lacking. The present study aims
at addressing these issues as well as utilizing wall dynamic R-value
as an indicative of transmission loads under dynamic conditions.
3. Mathematical formulation and calculation procedure
A wall of N layers is shown in Fig. 1. The outside is exposed to
convection heat transfer (qc,o), long wave radiation exchange with
surroundings (qr,o), and solar radiation (Is). The inside is exposed to
combined convection and radiation (qi) which gives the cooling or
heating transmission load in terms of the indoor air temperature
(Tf,i). Assuming no heat generation, constant properties, and 1-D
heat transfer, the governing equation becomes:
@2T j 1 @T j
¼ ð1Þ
@x2 aj @t
where aj is the thermal diffusivity (=k/qc) of layer j. The initial tem-
perature distribution is taken uniform across the whole wall as:
Fig. 1. Composite wall of N-layers showing boundary conditions and grid arrangement.
433
T j ðx; 0Þ ¼ T 0 ð2Þ
where T0 is equal to mean outdoor air temperature (Tf,o,mean). It is
noted that the steady periodic solution is independent of initial
temperature conditions, and that Tf,o,mean is a convenient value to
start calculations. The boundary conditions are:

@T 
k1 ¼ hi ðT f ;i  T x¼0 Þ ð3Þ
@x x¼0
at the inside surface, where k1 is the thermal conductivity of the
wall inner layer and hi is the combined convection and radiation
heat-transfer coefficient, and

@T 
kN ¼ hc;o ðT x¼L  T f ;o Þ  kIs  qr;o ð4Þ
@x x¼L
at the outside surface, where kN is the conductivity of the wall outer
layer, hc,o is the outside convection coefficient, and k is the solar
absorptivity taken as 0.4 for light-colored surfaces.
The heat transfer coefficients (hi and hc,o) were determined from
correlations, Kusuda [32]. The outdoor air temperatures (Tf,o) were
obtained from hourly measurements in Riyadh averaged over a
number of years. The solar radiation (Is) was calculated from the
ASHRAE clear-sky model [33] with results adjusted to account for
local dust and cloud conditions, Al-Sanea et al. [34]. The nonlinear
long wave radiation exchange with the sky and ground (qr,o) was
accounted for rigorously including refined means for estimating
the sky temperature. Calculations of these parameters are given
by Al-Sanea et al. [35]. The indoor temperature (Tf,i) was fixed for
the representative day of each month of the year but varied be-
tween the months according to appropriate monthly thermostat
settings as summarized in Table 1. These indoor air temperatures,
and those in their proximity, were selected to give low operational
cost while maintaining thermal comfort in dry climates, Al-Sanea
and Zedan [36].
The present nonlinear problem was solved by a control volume
finite-difference method using the implicit formulation. A wall of N
layers was discretized into a number of nodes, see Fig. 1, and the
finite-volume equations were derived by applying the overall en-
ergy balance. These equations can be represented by the general
form:
ai T i ¼ bi T iþ1 þ ci T i1 þ di ð5Þ
and were solved by the TDMA for i = 1, 2, . . . , n. The temperature Ti
at node i is linked to neighboring temperatures, Ti+1 and Ti1, and
the previous time-step temperature through coefficients ai through
di. Expressions for these coefficients are given in [35].
Results were checked to be fully converged, and grid and time
step independent. Besides, solution was carried through a number
of periods (each lasting 24 h) until a steady periodic state was fully
obtained. The numerical model has been validated in previous
434 S.A. Al-Sanea et al. / Applied Energy 89 (2012) 430–442

Table 1
Monthly settings of indoor air temperature [36].

Month January February March April May June July August September October November December
Tf,i (°C) 21 21 21 24 26 26 26 26 26 24 21 21

studies and was shown to produce very accurate results under dy- temperatures at previous and current time steps. It is noted that,
namic conditions by comparison with exact analytic solution for a for a given thermal mass, qst reflects average wall temperature fluc-
one-layered wall [15] and semi-analytic solutions for a three- tuation with time.
layered wall [16,17].
4.7. Nominal thermal resistance (Rn-value)
4. Definition and calculation of parameters
This is equal to 2.86 m2 K/W and is calculated as the sum of the
All the following parameters are calculated after solution has following resistances:
reached a steady periodic state. N  
X L 1 1
Rn ¼ þ þ ð9Þ
4.1. Time lag (tlag) j¼1
k j hi hc;o

Is time span between attaining peak temperatures at outside

and inside surfaces of wall. This is calculated for the representative 4.8. Dynamic thermal resistance (Rd-value)
day of each month of the year. The yearly average time lag is then
determined as the arithmetic average of these monthly values. The daily average dynamic thermal resistance is calculated for
the representative day of each month of the year as follows:
4.2. Decrement factor (df) R 24h
jðDTÞjdt
Rd;day ¼ 0R 24h ð10Þ
Is amplitude of temperature fluctuation on inner surface of wall 0
jqi jdt
divided by that on outer surface. This is calculated for the repre-
where DT = Tf,o  Tf,i. The yearly average dynamic R-value is then
sentative day of each month of the year. The yearly average decre-
determined as the weighted average of these monthly values with
ment factor is then determined as the arithmetic average of these
respect to transmission loads. As will be seen later, Rd is not con-
monthly values.
stant for a wall with a given Rn and its variation represents the dy-
namic nature of the problem in an informative way.
4.3. Instantaneous cooling and heating transmission loads (qi)

These are calculated from wall inner surface temperature (Tx=0) 5. Presentation and discussion of results
obtained from the solution as:
Firstly, effects of amount and location of thermal mass on trans-
qi ¼ hi ðT x¼0  T f ;i Þ ð6Þ mission loads, energy storage rate, dynamic resistance, time lag,
and decrement factor are dealt with. Secondly, concepts of critical
4.4. Daily total cooling and heating transmission loads (Qi) thermal mass and thermal-mass energy-savings potential are
developed and utilized. Climatic data of Riyadh are used and a
These are calculated from qi by integration over a 24-h period west-facing wall is considered. It is noted that the thermal mass
as: is basically the mass times specific heat. For a 1-D problem, this
Z boils down to density  specific heat  thickness of layer. In the
24h
present study, heavyweight concrete is the masonry material used
Qi ¼ qi dt ð7Þ
0 which means that the density and specific heat are fixed and, there-
fore, the thermal mass can be characterized by layer thickness.
It is noted that values of qi are summed up separately for cooling
and for heating.
5.1. Wall configurations (W1 and W2) and conditions of constant Rn-
value
4.5. Yearly total cooling and heating transmission loads

Two walls are considered: wall W1 with the insulation placed

These are calculated from the corresponding daily total values.
on the outside and wall W2 with the insulation placed on the in-
The daily value of the representative day of each month is multi-
side. The thermal mass (heavyweight concrete) and thermal insu-
plied by the number of days in that month and then summed up
lation (molded polystyrene) are sandwiched by thin plastering
over the whole year. Of course, cooling and heating transmission
layers as shown in Fig. 2a and b. Table 2 summarizes properties
loads (Qi,c and Qi,h, respectively) are summed up separately.
of materials used, [33,37]. The thermal mass thickness is varied
in the range 0 6 Lmas 6 50 cm while keeping the wall Rn-value con-
4.6. Wall energy storage rate (qst)
stant. This is done by corresponding adjustments made to the insu-
lation layer thickness (Lins), see Table 3. Since kmas  kins, an
This is calculated from:
increase in Lmas by 100 mm, for example, would correspond to a
X
N X
n
T new
i;j  T old
i;j
mere reduction in Lins by about 2 mm.
qst ¼ qi;j ci;j Dxi;j ð8Þ
j¼1 i¼1
Dt
5.2. Instantaneous thermal characteristics variations with time of day
where i refers to node in layer j, n is total number of nodes in this
layer, N is total number of layers in wall, Dx is internodal distance, Instantaneous transmission loads (qi) are presented versus time
Dt is time interval, and superscripts old and new refer to for wall W1 in Fig. 3a for representative days of August, January,
 S.A. Al-Sanea et al. / Applied Energy 89 (2012) 430–442 435

Inside Outside (a) 9 Aug., 20 cm

Jan., 20 cm
Nov., 20 cm
Cement plaster (1.5 cm) Cement plaster (1.5 cm) 7
Aug., 5 cm
Jan., 5 cm
Nov., 5 cm
5

Thermal mass Thermal Insulation

3

qi (W/m2)
1

-1

(a) Wall W1
-3

Inside Outside
-5
0 6 12 18 24

Cement plaster (1.5 cm) Cement plaster (1.5 cm) Time (h)

(b) 9 Aug., 20 cm
Jan., 20 cm
Nov., 20 cm
Thermal Insulation Thermal mass 7 Aug., 5 cm
Jan., 5 cm
Nov., 5 cm
5

3
qi (W/m2)

(b) Wall W2
1
Fig. 2. Schematic of wall configurations with same and constant Rn-value; (a) wall
W1 with outside insulation and (b) wall W2 with inside insulation.
-1

Table 2
Material properties [33,37]. -3

Material k (W/m K) q (kg/m3) c (J/kg K)

Cement plaster 0.72 1860 840 -5
Molded polystyrene 0.034 23 1280 0 6 12 18 24
Heavyweight concrete 1.73 2243 840 Time (h)

Fig. 3. Transmission load variation with time of day in August, January, and
November with Lmas = 20 cm and 5 cm; (a) for wall W1 (outside insulation) and (b)
Table 3 for wall W2 (inside insulation).
Adjustments made to insulation layer thick-
ness (Lins) by varying thermal mass thickness
(Lmas) in order to keep Rn-value constant. fluctuations are damped down appreciably by using the heavy-
Lmas (m) Lins (m)
weight structure (Lmas = 20 cm). Peak transmission load is, hence,
reduced and its time of occurrence is delayed giving longer time
0.000 0.0900
0.050 0.0890
lag. These are clear advantages of using increased thermal mass.
0.100 0.0880 Corresponding results for wall W2, presented in Fig. 3b, show sim-
0.150 0.0871 ilar trends but with larger fluctuations. Therefore, placing insula-
0.200 0.0861 tion on outside provides more damping of load fluctuation and
0.250 0.0851
smaller peak load.
0.300 0.0841
0.400 0.0821 Integrated values of qi over a 24-h period give the daily total
0.500 0.0802 transmission loads (Qi), see Eq. (7). Table 4 summarizes and com-
pares these daily total cooling and heating loads. Any of these loads
is also represented by the area enclosed under its corresponding
and November. Results are also compared for Lmas = 20 cm and curve in Fig. 3a and b and the zero datum line shown. It is noted
5 cm, corresponding to heavyweight and lightweight structures. that the daily cooling loads are practically the same in August for
It is seen that qi has a periodic variation and oscillates with positive both thermal masses and for both walls with a value of about
values in August (representing heat transmission to space), nega- 0.085 kW h/m2 day. The same can be said about the daily heating
tive values in January (representing heat transmission out of loads in January with a value of about 0.06 kW h/m2 day. However,
space), and both positive and negative values in November. Load this is not true for the daily loads in November, where both cooling
436 S.A. Al-Sanea et al. / Applied Energy 89 (2012) 430–442

Table 4
Daily total cooling and heating transmission loads for walls W1 and W2 using Lmas = 5 cm and 20 cm for representative days of August, January, and November.

Qi Wall W1 Wall W2
(kW h/m2 day)
Lmas = 5 cm Lmas = 20 cm Lmas = 5 cm Lmas = 20 cm
August January November August January November August January November August January November
Cooling  100 8.511 0.000 1.064 8.509 0.000 0.126 8.522 0.069 1.478 8.539 0.000 0.351
Heating  100 0.000 5.999 1.722 0.000 6.001 0.786 0.000 6.061 2.126 0.000 5.983 0.986

45
Aug. (a) 40

Jan.
40 Nov.
20

35
Tf,o 0
Tf,o
30
Tf,i for Aug.

qst (W/m2)
Tf,i for Aug.
T (ºC)

-20
25
Tf,i for Jan. & Nov.
Tf,i for Jan. & Nov. Aug., 20 cm
20 -40 Jan., 20 cm
Tf,o
Tf,o Nov., 20 cm
15 Aug., 5 cm
Tf,o -60
Tf,o Jan., 5 cm
10 Nov., 5 cm

-80
5 0 6 12 18 24
0 6 12 18 24
Time (h)
Time (h)

Fig. 4. Outdoor air temperature (Tf,o) variation with time of day in August, January,
and November showing fixed thermostat settings of indoor air temperature (Tf,i).
(b) 150 Aug., 20 cm
120 Jan., 20 cm
and heating loads are present and are quite different between the Nov., 20 cm
two thermal masses as well as between the two walls, as can 90 Aug., 5 cm
clearly be seen in Table 4. These loads are substantially reduced
Jan., 5 cm
by increasing mass for the same Rn-value. It may also be noted that 60
these loads are smaller for wall W1 compared to wall W2. Nov., 5 cm
qst (W/m2)

The variations of qi with time presented earlier in Fig. 3a and b 30

are very much the outcome of effects of outdoor and indoor air
temperatures (Tf,o and Tf,i) presented in Fig. 4. It is seen that Tf,o is 0
always above Tf,i in August; the opposite is true in January. How-
ever, in November Tf,o variation crosses Tf,i; i.e. it is higher during -30
part of day (10:00 < t < 20:00) and is lower during the rest of the
day. This explains the occurrence of both cooling and heating -60
transmission loads in November and, as will be seen later, is the
reason behind potential energy savings due to thermal mass in -90
moderate months or, indeed, moderate climates.
Further insight into results is made by examining variations of -120
thermal energy storage rate with time. These are shown for wall 0 6 12 18 24
W1 in Fig. 5a for August, January, and November for Lmas = 20 cm Time (h)
and 5 cm. Positive values signify energy storage, while negative
Fig. 5. Energy storage rate variation with time of day in August, January, and
values signify energy loss. As seen, the wall gains energy during November with Lmas = 20 cm and 5 cm; (a) for wall W1 and (b) for wall W2.
daytime (7:00 < t < 16:00) and dissipates it predominantly during
the evening and night time. The dominant source of energy gain
is solar radiation absorbed by the wall outer surface, a large per- mass. It seems surprising at first that increasing thermal mass does
centage of which is stored in the wall and is ultimately dissipated not really increase heat storage rate; however, a careful look at Eq.
to outside through the same surface. Daily total storage rate is the (8) shows that the average wall temperature fluctuation drops
area under the curve using positive values of qst, while daily total with increasing thermal mass.
dissipation rate is the area under the curve using negative values The corresponding results for wall W2, presented in Fig. 5b,
of qst. These two quantities must be equal under steady periodic show that qst variations with time have rather similar trends to
conditions, i.e. net heat storage over 24 h must be zero. It is inter- those of wall W1 but with larger fluctuations. Moreover, the effect
esting to note that energy storage and dissipation rates have sim- of thermal mass on qst is much more noticeable for wall W2. There-
ilar time variations in August, January, and November, and that fore, placing the insulation layer on the outside has very much re-
these rates are not much affected by varying amount of thermal duced energy storage rates and damped temperature fluctuations.
 S.A. Al-Sanea et al. / Applied Energy 89 (2012) 430–442 437

2 10
W1, cool. W2, cool.
W1, cool. W2, cool.
W1, heat. W2, heat.
1 9

Qi,c (kWh/m2.day) × 100

Qi (kWh/m2.day) × 100

0 8

-1 7

-2 6

-3 5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Lmas (m) Lmas (m)

Fig. 6. Daily cooling and heating transmission loads variation with masonry Fig. 7. Daily cooling transmission load variation with masonry thickness in August
thickness in November for walls W1 and W2. for walls W1 and W2.

5.3. Effect of thermal mass on daily thermal characteristics

12
Fig. 6 presents variations of the daily total transmission loads
(Qi) with masonry thickness (Lmas) for the representative day of
10
November. Positive values signify cooling loads (Qi,c), while nega-
tive values signify heating loads (Qi,h). It is seen that Qi,c decreases
with increasing Lmas and diminishes to zero at Lmas  0.25 m for 8
Rd (m2.K/W)

W1 and Lmas  0.35 m for W2. Similarly, the magnitude of Qi,h

decreases with increasing Lmas but reaches asymptotically a con-
stant value at Lmas  0.3 m. For Lmas < 0.3 m, and for both cooling 6
and heating, wall W1 gives smaller Qi than wall W2 for any given W1, Aug. W2, Aug.
Lmas. Corresponding results for August, presented in Fig. 7, show W1, Jan. W2, Jan.
4
that values of Qi,c stay practically constant with increasing Lmas W1, Nov. W2, Nov.
and are practically equal for both walls. These behaviors are attrib-
uted largely to the swing of the outdoor temperature (Tf,o) relative 2
the indoor temperature (Tf,i) as shown earlier in Fig. 4. Similar
trend of variation is obtained for January to that obtained for
August but for Qi,h. 0
The variations of the daily average Rd-value with Lmas for the 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
representative days of August, January, and November are pre- Lmas (m)
sented in Fig. 8. It is seen that Rd-values in August stay practically
Fig. 8. Daily average dynamic R-value variation with masonry thickness in August,
constant with increasing Lmas. This reflects the daily transmission January, and November for walls W1 and W2; Rn-value = 2.86 m2 K/W.
load behavior already shown in Fig. 7. The same is true for January.
For these months, Rd-values can hardly be distinguished from the
Rn-value which is 2.86 m2 K/W. In November, however, it is seen the heavier mass (Lmas = 20 cm) shown in Fig. 9b. Here, Rd-values
that while the Rn-value is constant, the Rd-value increases with increase substantially above the Rn-value in March, April, October,
Lmas. This reflects decreasing daily cooling and heating transmis- and November. It is also noted that wall W1 has higher Rd-values
sion loads with increasing Lmas as shown in Fig. 6. Besides, for a than wall W2 in March and November. These results emphasize
given Lmas, Rd-value for wall W1 is greater than that for wall W2 the importance of both amount and location of thermal mass and
up to Lmas  0.4 m, beyond which Rd-values of the two walls are indicate that the moderate months are responsible for achieving
approximately the same. This also reflects Qi versus Lmas behavior energy savings due to sole effect of mass for a given wall Rn-value.
presented in Fig. 6. It is concluded, therefore, that the Rd-value The relationship between amount of thermal mass and percentage
gives a true and indicative representation of the actual daily trans- energy savings is dealt with later.
mission loads while the Rn-value falls short of such a complete rep-
resentation, as expected.
Fig. 9a compares Rd-values for the representative days in all 5.4. Concept and significance of dynamic R-value
months. This is done for both walls with Lmas = 5 cm while showing
Rn-value as a reference. For this light structure, it is seen that The present authors have developed, refined, and adopted the
Rd-values are generally smaller than the Rn-value and that they concept of the dynamic R-value for a while now. Its advantage over
are different for the two walls in the moderate months with wall the nominal R-value has been noticed. However, it has now been
W1 having the larger values. The picture changes significantly for realized through the present work that it has a much wider scope
438 S.A. Al-Sanea et al. / Applied Energy 89 (2012) 430–442

(a) 3.5 thermal mass and reaches asymptotically a constant value at large
thermal mass, see Fig. 8. Due to these moderate months, the same
trend is obtained for the yearly average dynamic R-values as will
3
be seen later.
With reference to Table 4, and by considering for example wall
2.5 W1 with Lmas = 5 cm, it is clearly noted that the sum of the absolute
values of daily cooling and heating transmission loads for the rep-
R (m2.K/W)

2 resentative day of November is much less than either the cooling

load in the representative day of August or the heating load in
the representative day of January. This is attributed to two factors;
1.5
the first factor is related to reduction in difference between out-
door air and indoor air temperatures in November compared to
1 August and January, see Fig. 4. The second factor is related to the
W1, dyn. R
dynamic nature of the problem, i.e. thermal energy storage and
W1, nom. R
0.5 time lag effects in the wall and their interaction with varying
W2, dyn. R
amount of thermal mass. This second factor cannot be accounted
W2, nom. R
for by the nominal R-value during the moderate months where
0 both cooling and heating are present during the day, in which heat
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
transfer to the inner space reverses direction accordingly. The dy-
Month
namic R-value, on the other hand, has responded to this effect by
showing changes, see Fig. 9a, reflecting variations in both trans-
(b) 9
W1, dyn. R mission loads and the driving temperature differences between
8 W1, nom. R outdoor and indoor over the representative days in the months.
W2, dyn. R By referring to the same previous variables in Table 4 but at
7 W2, nom. R Lmas = 20 cm, results reveal much reduced cooling and heating
transmission loads in November; this may also be noted in Fig. 6.
6 Since the driving temperature differences between outdoor and in-
door are the same, the dynamic R-value must have increased
R (m2.K/W)

5 appreciably to represent such large reduction in transmission

loads. This is exactly what the results in Fig. 9b indicate. This
4 may be looked upon as an enhancement in dynamic R-value as a
result of increasing thermal mass for same nominal R-value.
3
5.5. Effect of thermal mass on yearly thermal characteristics
2

Variation of yearly total cooling transmission load (Qi,c) with

1
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Month
Fig. 9. Daily average dynamic and nominal R-values for walls W1 and W2 for
representative days in months; (a) with Lmas = 5 cm and (b) with Lmas = 20 cm.
of use than had been anticipated. The following account highlights
its advantage and importance.
The R-value employed exclusively in the literature is the static
R-value. It is presently termed nominal R-value [Eq. (9)] in order
to distinguish it from the dynamic R-value [Eq. (10)]. This nominal
R-value, which represents transmission load under steady-state
conditions, is merely used here as a datum for comparison. Caution
must be exercised in using this R-value under dynamic conditions.
The present results have demonstrated that both dynamic and
nominal R-values are close for winter and summer months in
which only heating or cooling is present during the whole day,
see Figs. 8 and 9, and therefore both R-values give adequate repre-
sentation of the transmission loads. In contrast, during the moder-
ate months in which both heating and cooling are present during
the day, only the dynamic R-values have responded and propor-
tionately represented corresponding changes in transmission loads
while the nominal R-value completely fails to do that. As a conse-
quence, there is no physical reasoning to why, in the moderate
months, the nominal R-value is greater than the dynamic R-values
for lightweight walls and is smaller than the dynamic R-values for
heavyweight walls, cf. Fig. 9a and b. Indeed, in the moderate
months, the dynamic R-value increases all the way with increasing
Lmas is presented in Fig. 10a. It is seen that Qi,c decreases sharply
with increasing Lmas reaching asymptotically a constant value for
9 10 11 12 either wall. The asymptotic values are represented by the two low-
er dotted horizontal lines. The two upper dotted horizontal lines
will be referred to later when considering the critical thermal mass
thickness. Similar behavior is obtained for the yearly total heating
transmission load (Qi,h) shown in Fig. 10b. It is noted that for a gi-
ven Lmas, wall W1 gives lower yearly cooling and heating loads. For
Lmas > 30 cm, the two walls give practically the same yearly loads.
At the other end, when Lmas = 0, Qi is the same since both walls
would have identical configurations; see Fig. 2.
By comparing values of Qi at the asymptotes with those at
Lmas = 0 in Fig. 10a and b, the maximum possible savings in yearly
transmission loads affected by thermal mass alone are estimated at
about 17% for cooling and 35% for heating. Such potential savings
in transmission loads are quite substantial and, as emphasized ear-
lier, are caused by reduction in loads with increasing Lmas while
keeping Rn-value constant. These results are consistent with the
traditional practice of constructing walls with large masses in re-
gions with moderate climates. Nevertheless, this does not preclude
the need for using sufficient amount of thermal insulation. The use
of even heavily insulated but lightweight walls must, therefore, be
carefully scrutinized under different climatic conditions.
Fig. 11 displays the variations of the peak cooling (August) and
peak heating (January) transmission loads with Lmas. It is seen that
qpeak decreases appreciably with increasing Lmas and resembles
variations of the yearly total cooling and heating transmission loads
presented above. However, a main difference is that qpeak continues
to decrease and does not seem to reach an asymptotic value with
increasing Lmas over the range considered. For Lmas < 0.4 m, wall
 S.A. Al-Sanea et al. / Applied Energy 89 (2012) 430–442 439

(a) 15 10
W1, cool. W2, cool.
W1, cool. W2, cool.
8 W1, heat. W2, heat.
14.5

14
Qi,c (kWh/m2.yr)

qpeak (W/m2)
13.5 2

0
13

-2

12.5
-4

12 -6
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Lmas (m) Lmas (m)

Fig. 11. Yearly peak cooling and heating transmission loads variation with masonry
(b) -4 thickness for walls W1 and W2.
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
-4.5

14 W1 W2
-5
Qi,c (kWh/m2.yr)

12
-5.5

10
-6
tlag (h)

-6.5
6

-7
4
W1, heat. W2, heat.
-7.5 2
Lmas (m)

Fig. 10. Yearly cooling and heating transmission loads variation with masonry
thickness for walls W1 and W2 showing asymptotes and corresponding critical
thermal mass thicknesses by using 5% criterion; (a) cooling load and (b) heating
load.
W1 gives lower qpeak. At Lmas > 0.4 m, the two walls give practically
the same qpeak; this suggests that qpeak is not sensitive to insulation
layer location at large Lmas.
The yearly average time lag (tlag) variations with Lmas are pre-
sented in Fig. 12. It is seen that for Lmas > 10 cm, tlag increases lin-
early with Lmas. For a given Lmas, wall W1 gives a time lag that is
about half an hour longer compared to wall W2. It is estimated that
tlag increases at a rate of about 1 h per 4 cm increase in Lmas. Fig. 13
presents the variations of the yearly average decrement factor (df)
with Lmas. It is seen that df decreases with increasing Lmas. The ini-
tial rate of decrease is steeper for wall W1 which is an advantage
for the outside insulation. At Lmas = 0, df  0.04; this is reduced
by an order of magnitude for wall W1 when Lmas = 30 cm compared
to a reduction by a factor of 5 for wall W2.
The yearly average Rd-value variations with Lmas are presented
in Fig. 14 and compared with the Rn-value. These are weighted
average with respect to transmission loads. It is seen that Rd-values
of both walls increase with Lmas and reach asymptotically the same
value at Lmas > 0.3 m. For a given Lmas, and for Lmas < 0.3 m, wall W1
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Lmas (m)
Fig. 12. Yearly average time lag variation with masonry thickness for walls W1 and
W2.
gives larger Rd-value over that of wall W2. The increase in Rd-value
with Lmas is consistent with the decrease in Qi and qpeak with
increasing Lmas presented earlier in Figs. 10a and b, and 11. As seen
from the latter figures, Qi,c, Qi,h, and qpeak practically cease to de-
crease with increasing Lmas beyond 0.3 m; this is exactly reflected
by Rd-value becoming constant for Lmas > 0.3 m as seen in Fig. 14.
Compared to the constant Rn-value, it is clear that the Rd-values
are in harmony with varying values of Qi and qpeak; as such, they
better represent the dynamic nature of the problem.
It is interesting to note that the nominal R-value is still in com-
mon use in the literature and in building codes and standards un-
der the name of ‘‘recommended R-value’’. In view of the present
results, the accuracy and legitimacy of using the nominal R-value
under dynamic conditions may be quantified under the present
conditions with reference to Fig. 14. As seen, noticeable differences
exist between the dynamic R-values and the constant nominal
R-value depending on the amount of thermal mass present and
440 S.A. Al-Sanea et al. / Applied Energy 89 (2012) 430–442

4 Table 5
W1 W2 Percentage criterion, energy savings potential, yearly cooling transmission load, and
critical thermal mass thickness for wall W1a.

% Criterion D (%) Transmission loadb (kW h/m2 yr) Lmas,cr (cm)

3 30 70 13.223 6.5
20 80 12.972 8.4
15 85 12.847 9.8
10 90 12.721 12.1
7 93 12.646 14.2
df ×100

5 95 12.596 15.9
2
3 97 12.545 18.2
2 98 12.520 20.0
1 99 12.495 23.7
a
Largest load = 14.98 kW h/m2 yr and asymptotic load = 12.47 kW h/m2 yr.
b
1 Load = % criterion  (largest load  asymptotic load) + asymptotic load.

(Lmas,cr) is obtained corresponding to a percentage energy-savings

0 potential (D). This is demonstrated with reference to Fig. 10a
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 where the two lower horizontal dotted lines represent the asymp-
Lmas (m) totic cooling loads for walls W1 and W2. An asymptotic load gives
the minimum yearly total transmission load obtained at ‘‘large’’
Fig. 13. Yearly average decrement factor variation with masonry thickness for walls thermal mass. Adding more mass will not further reduce this load,
W1 and W2.
and is pointless as far as savings in energy consumption are con-
cerned. This fact leads to the notion of optimum thickness of ther-
mal mass to use in building walls.
3.5
For the present demonstration, a ‘‘5% criterion’’ is chosen; this
constitutes a 95% of the maximum possible savings on yearly cool-
ing transmission load through using thermal mass alone for a given
wall Rn-value. Firstly, the difference between yearly cooling load at
Lmas = 0 and asymptotic load is calculated. Secondly, 5% of this dif-
3 ference is added to the asymptotic load. These new loads, for walls
R (m2.K/W)

W1 and W2, are represented by the two upper dotted horizontal

2.5
W1, dyn. R W1, nom. R
W2, dyn. R W2, nom. R
2 to compromise between what would have been two different
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
Lmas (m)
Fig. 14. Yearly average dynamic and nominal R-values variation with masonry
thickness for walls W1 and W2.
its location in the wall. If, for the sake of argument, the recom-
mended R-value is taken as the nominal R-value shown in the fig-
ure, then in practice the wall would be under-designed for Lmas less
than about 0.1 m and over-designed for Lmas greater than about
0.1 m because of dynamic effects. Accordingly use of lightweight
walls, even when sufficiently insulated, must be scrutinized for
proper thermal mass especially in moderate climates.
5.6. Critical thickness of thermal mass (Lmas,cr) and energy savings
potential (D)
Energy savings potential is short for ‘‘thermal-mass transmis-
sion-load-savings potential’’ and represents percentage savings
on that part of energy caused by transmission load that can poten-
tially be achieved by thermal mass. This excludes savings that are
normally affected by thermal insulation. Based on yearly transmis-
sion load (Qi) variations with Lmas, a critical thermal mass thickness
lines shown in Fig. 10a which cut the Qi,c versus Lmas curves at
Lmas,cr. Fig. 10a shows that Lmas,cr = 15.9 cm and 22.7 cm for walls
W1 and W2, respectively.
By repeating the above procedure for the yearly total heating
transmission loads, as shown in Fig. 10b, the Lmas,cr obtained are
15.6 cm and 22.5 cm for walls W1 and W2, respectively. By com-
paring these values with those for cooling, it becomes evident that
Lmas,cr for cooling and heating are practically the same for a given
D. This finding is quite important since, otherwise, one will have
0.5 Lmas,cr, one for cooling and one for heating.
In order to construct a chart that can be used to obtain thermal
mass required to achieve desired percentage savings in yearly
transmission loads, critical thermal mass variations with energy
savings potential are developed as shown in Table 5. The table
summarizes values of critical thermal mass thickness (Lmas,cr) and
energy savings potential (D) for cooling calculated for wall W1.
The first column specifies the % criterion used. The second column
contains energy savings potential which is simply 100%  % crite-
rion used. The third column contains the transmission load calcu-
lated by using the % criterion. The fourth column contains Lmas,cr
obtained from corresponding value of transmission load just calcu-
lated by using Qi,c versus Lmas curve presented in Fig. 10a. Due to
space limitation, other such tables for heating and for wall W2
are not presented.
Fig. 15 presents Lmas,cr variations with D and compares results
between walls W1 and W2 for cooling and heating. It is seen that
Lmas,cr increases with D; the increase is initially gradual and then
becomes much steeper as a high energy savings potential is sought.
Accordingly, if a high D is selected, this would be on the expense of
having to use large Lmas,cr. The initial gradual increase of Lmas,cr with
D is quite advantageous since much of the energy savings potential
can be achieved by slightly increasing Lmas. Results also show that
values of Lmas,cr are practically the same for cooling and heating
 S.A. Al-Sanea et al. / Applied Energy 89 (2012) 430–442
35
W1, cool. W1, heat.
W2, cool. W2, heat.
30
25
Lmas,cr (cm)
20
15
10
5 30 cm.
0
70 75 80 85 90 95 100
Energy savings potential, Δ (%)
Fig. 15. Critical thermal mass thickness variation with cooling and heating energy-
savings potentials for walls W1 and W2.
energy-savings potentials as demonstrated by nearly perfect
agreement between the solid and dashed lines. Trend of variations
of Lmas,cr with D is very similar for both walls; however, for a given
D, wall W1 gives about 5 cm less Lmas,cr. In other words, the energy
savings potential of a wall with outside insulation is superior to
that with inside insulation having the same thermal mass.
Further examination of results in Fig. 15 reveals that the range of
energy savings potential given by 70% 6 D 6 99% corresponds to a
wide range of critical thermal mass given by 6.4 cm 6 Lmas,cr 6
29.6 cm. The precise value of Lmas,cr would, of course, depend on
the selected value of D and thermal insulation location. It is noted
that values of Lmas,cr corresponding to D < 70% are not presented
since it is believed that under such conditions the walls would be
wasting high percentage of valuable energy that could have easily
been saved. Besides, walls with such correspondingly small Lmas,cr
(e.g. Lmas,cr < 10 cm) would be highly under-designed with regard
to peak loads, time lag, and decrement factor (cf. Figs. 11–13). From
the practical application point of view, the use of Fig. 15 is simply to
select a desired percentage of energy savings potential, and then
determine the corresponding required thermal mass thickness.
The present investigators suggest a minimum value of D of no less
than 90% to be selected and recommend consideration of D in the
range 90% 6 D 6 97%.
6. Conclusions and recommendations
While keeping nominal resistance (Rn-value) constant, effects of
amount and location of thermal mass in insulated building walls
on total and peak transmission loads, time lag, decrement factor,
and dynamic resistance (Rd-value) were investigated under steady
periodic conditions using the climatic data of Riyadh. The concept
of thermal-mass energy-savings potential was developed and uti-
lized for the first time to construct a chart to determine the ther-
mal mass thickness (Lmas) required to obtain desirable
percentages of energy savings through using thermal mass alone
for any thickness of insulation. The results show that:
1. Daily transmission loads are not affected by Lmas for summer
and winter months.
2. For moderate months, daily cooling and heating loads decrease
with increasing Lmas and either diminish to zero or be reduced
asymptotically to constant values.
441
3. Yearly cooling and heating transmission loads decrease with
increasing Lmas and reach asymptotically constant values.
4. Peak cooling and heating transmission loads and decrement fac-
tor decrease with increasing Lmas, while the time lag increases
with increasing Lmas.
5. While the Rn-value is constant, wall Rd-value changes with
amount and location of Lmas and represents actual variations
in transmission loads.
6. Relations between critical thermal-mass thickness (Lmas,cr) and
thermal-mass energy-savings potential (D) are obtained by
using heavyweight concrete. It is found that:
(a) Lmas,cr increases with increasing D.
(b) For a given Lmas, cooling and heating energy-savings poten-
tials are the same.
(c) For D in the range 70–99%, Lmas,cr ranges between 6 and
(d) For a given D, Lmas,cr is smaller for a wall with outside insu-
lation compared to a wall with inside insulation. Con-
versely, for a given Lmas,cr, higher D is obtained for the
wall with outside insulation.
7. Maximum savings in yearly transmission loads are about 17%
for cooling and 35% for heating as a result of optimizing thermal
mass.
8. For a given thermal mass, a wall with outside insulation gives
better overall thermal performance compared to a wall with
inside insulation.
It is recommended that building walls should contain as a min-
imum critical amount of thermal mass that correspond to energy
savings potential in the range 90% 6 D 6 97% and that the insula-
tion layer should be placed on the outside for applications with
continuously operating AC. Future work may investigate effects
of using different climatic conditions.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the College of Engineer-
ing Research Center and Deanship of Scientific Research at King
Saud University in Riyadh for support.
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