Assessing the Thermal Storage Potential of Timber and Hybrid Activated Slabs: A Simulation-Based Comparison of Different Construction Types

Andrea Agner and Doris Österreicher ()
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Andrea Agner: Institute for Building Materials, Building Physics, Building Systems and Design, University of Stuttgart, 70174 Stuttgart, Germany
Doris Österreicher: Institute for Building Materials, Building Physics, Building Systems and Design, University of Stuttgart, 70174 Stuttgart, Germany

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-20

Abstract: Thermally activated building systems (TABS) rely on high thermal mass materials, such as concrete, which perform well thermally but have a high carbon footprint. This study systematically investigates the thermal behavior of bio-based materials—spruce, pine, beech, and oak—in TABS using numerical simulations, comparing them with conventional and hybrid materials like concrete and clay. A total of 120 variants were simulated with different pipe diameters, spacing, embedment depths, and inlet temperatures. Thermal properties, particularly thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity, significantly influenced component activation efficiency. Concrete exhibited a characteristic cooling time of 71 h at an inlet temperature of 26 °C (pipe diameter 16 mm), while pine reached 80 h under the same conditions. The use of capillary tube mats extended the cooling times to 75 h for concrete and 92 h for pine. Although concrete provides the best thermal performance, certain bio-based materials achieve comparable results under optimized conditions. Hybrid systems with mineral components offer additional potential for improvement. These findings demonstrate that ecologically sustainable component activation using bio-based materials is feasible with only moderate efficiency losses compared to mineral-based systems, provided system parameters are appropriately adapted.

Keywords: embedded pipes; TABS; load shifting; thermal storage capacity; numeric simulation; bio-based materials; timber; building mass; radiant heating systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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