Thermal mass, building shell air volume, and heat losses over time

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on a spreadsheet calculator designed to analyze temperature changes in building shells based on thermal mass and air volume. The calculator accounts for building fabric and ventilation heat losses, deriving available heat energy at a starting temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. Key calculations include heat loss over time and the relationship between energy lost and temperature change, emphasizing the need to incorporate the Thermal Time Constant for accuracy. The user seeks guidance on integrating this constant into their calculations, potentially through exponential functions.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of thermal mass and its impact on building temperature
  • Familiarity with specific heat capacities of air and thermal materials
  • Knowledge of heat loss calculations in building physics
  • Basic proficiency in spreadsheet software for modeling
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the concept of Thermal Time Constant in building physics
  • Learn about exponential decay functions and their applications in thermal calculations
  • Explore advanced heat loss modeling techniques for building energy analysis
  • Investigate software tools for thermal simulation, such as EnergyPlus or TRNSYS
USEFUL FOR

Architects, engineers, and energy analysts involved in building design and thermal performance optimization will benefit from this discussion.

dansphere
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Hello,

I'm looking for some feedback on and an analysis of a spreadsheet calculator I've made.

It looks at temperature changes over time, given starting volumes of a building shell and thermal mass. The calc takes into account building fabric and ventilation heat losses.

First I've derived the available heat energy at a given starting temperature and used the specific heat capacities of the air and thermal mass to calculate the total available heat energy at 20 degrees Centigrade relative to absolute zero. Does this make sense?

Then I've calculated the losses over one hour and deducted that from the total energy, and done this recursively for several hours.

The change in internal temperature I'm deriving from a simple ratio.. ((heat energy lost/total heat energy) * original temperature in Kelvin). Although what I've realized is that the energy lost is only translatable to a temperature change via the specific heat capacities of the air and thermal mass, is this correct? Or can it be done via a ratio?

Attached is the spreadsheet I've made.
 

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I've realized that the calculator is going to be very inaccurate due to the Thermal Time Constant of the thermal mass..
I'm not sure how to include the thermal time constant into the calculations (the calculations of which I'm thinking would best be done through some sort of exponential function.. eek I don't have a clue) Any help on this would be greatly appreciated :)

Dan
 

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