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Its not just the insulative value, stone and concrete also have thermal mass, which can keep you cooler in summer and warmer in winter. Some types of constructi
by eloff 5y ago
Its not just the insulative value, stone and concrete also have thermal mass, which can keep you cooler in summer and warmer in winter. Some types of construction like rammed earth or hempcrete exploit this on purpose.
Wood frame houses don't have that.
- dahfizz 5y agoThermal mass is not always a good thing. High thermal mass is helpful in a temperate climates where winter nights are chilly and summer days are warm, but the average temperature all year is comfortable. We don't have that in most of America. Having a high thermal mass in New England just means your heater has to work harder in the winter to heat your thermally massive house. Ditto for Arizona during most of the year.
- skybrian 5y agoIt seems like this shouldn't be a problem when the insulation is outside the the thermal mass? Once it's warmed up it will stay that way.
- Valgrim 5y agoInsulation should absolutely be kept outside the vapor barrier and well ventilated for better performance, but thermal mass is less important than building super-airtight walls, with lots of insulation, good quality windows and controlled ventilation.
- AlotOfReading 5y agoHigh thermal mass is very much desirable in Arizona. Adobe pueblos are used for traditional housing because they remain comfortable throughout summer without air conditioning due to the high thermal mass. A rug and some mild heating is sufficient to keep them tolerable even in extreme winters.
- mcguire 5y agoThe desert is typically cold at night.
- vegetablepotpie 5y agoWas typically cold at night. I’ve lived in southern Arizona since the 90s. 30 years ago it would feel cool driving home from the city. Now? Not at all. Owning a concrete block house feels like all my money is going through the walls. Even if you have the AC on in the summer, you can touch the walls from the inside and they feel warm. I’m definitely going to need to look at insulation going forward.
- icoder 5y agoI think wood, stone, concrete and glass are all not great insulators, so that should be found in thickness, layering with different materials and airtightness (assumjng mechanical ventillation preferably with heat exhange). You can do that (and mess it up) with any of said materials.
- gnopgnip 5y agoIn most masonry homes the insulation is on the inside of the masonry, so you don't get the masonry as part of the thermal mass inside the insulation envelope. Wood framed houses can have thermal mass to keep a stable temperature. This is more common with homes with exposed wood framing, and SIP on the outside.
- icoder 5y agoMasonry can be basically on any type of housing right?. Here in the Neherlands the inside is often concrete with lits if thernal mass, also in floors/ceilings, which are often big fat slabs of concrete.