Date: August 21, 2017
News - Thermal Mass Effect of an ICF Wall
How long does it take for the heat to turn on when an ICF wall is exposed to a frigid 31°F? Two hours? Three hours?
What would you say if the answer was two entire days?
Here are the details of a test that was performed by an Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) manufacturer.
An R-24 ICF wall was placed in the middle of a test chamber. The temperature on one side of the chamber was reduced to -31°F while the temperature on the other side was maintained at 70°F by a heat source.
Amazingly, for two entire days, the thermostat did not detect a temperature drop and the heat never turned on. Then, for days three and four, the R-24 ICF wall operated at an amazing R-45* to R-82* and for the ten remaining days of the test, the ICF wall operated from R-45* and gradually tapered down to its actual R-24 R-value on day 14 where it remained thereafter.
This is the thermal performance boost created by the “thermal mass effect” of an ICF wall.
If you are currently working on a project and would like free project design and technical assistance to convert your project to ICF construction, contact a Chaney Enterprises sales representative or call us at 800-424-2639.
*Instant apparent thermal resistance over time, simplified calculation.