This thesis investigates whether the use of TMA is suitable for and of benefit to the Norwegian building industry.

Power House One plans to use the same heating technology as the Sparebank1 building in Trondheim. This building uses ventilation to distribute thermal energy to the end of activating the thermal mass. The purpose of this thesis was therefore to determine whether it is more efficient to use water rather than air to distribute thermal energy. Water has a higher volumetric heat capacity than air and therefore water-carrying pipes embedded in the thermal mass should be more efficient in distributing thermal energy. This thesis found that integrating thermal mass activation into building design is a valuable means to improve the thermal comfort of an indoor space. While its performance for improving thermal comfort is better than that of ventilation, there is no clear answer as to whether TMA is also more energy efficient than activating this same thermal mass using ventilation heat. Further research is thus necessary to investigate this issue.

Illustration: Powerhouse 1, Snøhetta