Thermal battery

What is a thermal battery?

Don’t worry, we’re not talking about some new high tech system. The thermal battery is about as low tech as you can get!

When your concrete slab absorbs, stores and releases heat energy, it's acting as a thermal battery. If done right it can also help to keep your house cooler in the summer, particularly when used in conjunction with shade.

A thermal battery is particularly beneficial where there is a big difference between day and night outdoor temperatures.

Cooling

In the summer the slab can help cool your house down as the earth is good at wicking away excess heat in the slab. Team this with keeping the slab cooler through the use of shade, and cross ventilation inside the house with strategically placed windows and doors and you can help drive down the cost of keeping your house cool in the summer.

Warming

In the winter months, if you have unshaded north facing glazing, then you are able to take advantage particularly of sunny days to store heat energy in your slab. It then radiates this warmth back into your home throughout the night.

Where the earth helps wick away excess heat in the summer, it has the opposite effect in winter. The ground temperature beneath your slab remains more stable as the slab insulates it from the cold, helping to keep the heat in (basically it cools it in the summer and helps retain the heat in the winter).

If you plan your house well, right from the start, then you can take advantage of free heating and cooling with your very own battery in the floor.

Come and talk with us early to ensure you can benefit from this and other design ideas.