Thermal mass

Thermal mass is a material’s capacity to absorb, store, and release heat. It depends on how much material is present and its specific heat capacity.

Specific heat capacity: The heat required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree. It determines how much heat a given mass stores as its temperature changes.
Passive solar building design: Building design that uses sunlight, shading, and natural heat flows to maintain comfortable indoor conditions. Thermal mass can store daytime solar gains and release them later.
Density: Mass per unit volume of a substance. A dense material can provide more mass, and thus more storage, within a given volume.
Thermal insulation: Materials or systems that reduce heat transfer between spaces at different temperatures. Insulation slows heat flow; thermal mass stores heat that has already entered.
Thermal diffusivity: A measure of how quickly heat spreads through a material relative to its capacity to store heat. It governs how quickly stored heat moves through a thermal mass.
Trombe wall: A sun-facing masonry wall behind glazing that collects and slowly transfers solar heat indoors. It is a specific design that uses a wall’s thermal mass for passive heating.
Sensible heat: Heat that changes a substance’s temperature without changing its phase. Most conventional building thermal mass stores heat as a temperature change.
Thermal resistance: A measure of how strongly a material or assembly opposes heat flow. Resistance limits heat transfer, while thermal mass affects how temperatures change over time.
Heat capacity: The amount of heat required to raise an object’s temperature by one degree. Thermal mass is heat capacity considered in the context of building materials and temperature buffering.
Phase-change material: A substance that absorbs or releases substantial heat while changing between physical phases. It can add heat storage through latent heat rather than temperature rise alone.

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