Think of brick as an energy saver
Brickwork’s thermal mass can help reduce our energy dependency.
Heating and cooling is the largest energy component in an average Australian house. Reduce the need for artificial heating and cooling by harnessing natural energy, through incorporating thermal mass into your sustainable design.
Image Source: Your Home, Technical Manual, sec 4.0, Australian Greenhouse Office
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Thermal mass is an essential part of passive design, the proven technique that harnesses natural energy to help reduce the dependence on artificial means of heating and cooling.
The following passive design principles work together to naturally heat and cool a home.
- Orientation
- Ventilation
- Insulation
- Thermal Mass
The interconnected principles of passive design act to maintain a level of thermal comfort naturally. A building designed with these thermal principles (tailored to the climate zone) should be less reliant on artificial forms of heating and cooling and thereby reduce the impact of the home on the environment in the long term.
Materials with thermal mass act to moderate temperatures by their ability to act as a thermal battery. This is confirmed by recent Australian research which demonstrated the ability of thermal mass to moderate temperatures more consistent with the human comfort zone.
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Energy-Efficient Homes: Facts for Consumers
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Energy-Efficient Homes: Facts for Designers & Builders
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Embodied Energy & Life Cycle Analysis Background Paper:
Examines the concept of embodied energy and its context in the energy consumed over the lifetime of an average house.
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