Questions about the Thermal Mass poster

What’s on the Thermal Mass poster?

A definition and 6 facts worth remembering. Thermal mass is a material's ability to absorb, store and later release heat, flattening the indoor temperature swing and delaying the peak by several hours. Concrete, brick, stone and water store heat well.; Heavy construction typically lags the peak 6 to 8 hours.; It must be exposed, not hidden by a suspended ceiling.; It must be purged at night by cool outside air.; It needs a real day-to-night swing to recharge.; In warm humid climates it can make things worse.; Typical time lag — 6 to 8 hours; Needs — night purge; A soffit left exposed and night-vented can cut a peak office temperature by several d…. Mass delays and dampens heat flow; insulation resists it. They are different properties and neither substitutes for the other.

Who is the Thermal Mass poster for?

Thermal Mass belongs to the Architecture section rather than to a school year, because design is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning environmental design can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.

When should you use the Thermal Mass poster?

Use it in climates with a big day-to-night temperature swing, not in humid tropics. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Thermal Mass belongs on the wall where that design work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.

What other posters go with Thermal Mass?

Overheating, Airtightness and Embodied Carbon sit alongside Thermal Mass in the Architecture section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.OverheatingAirtightnessEmbodied Carbon

Is the Thermal Mass poster free to download and print?

Yes. Thermal Mass downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Architecture section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence

What size does the Thermal Mass poster print at?

Thermal Mass is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Thermal Mass loses nothing.Printing guide