Browse Forums Eco Living Re: Anyone know anything about Forma-Tech Wall Building Syst 10Jun 12, 2011 11:51 pm You've lost me but this is the theory. Thermal mass is the heat storage battery. Solar radiation is the charging source, You want the sun to pass through the window, enter the building, strike the mass and charge the battery. Radiation can also bounce around within the building to heat the mass but is most efficiently done directly. At night time, when the sun sets and the indoor temp falls, the heat stored in the mass can be released to mitigate the heat loss. To reduce the rate of heat loss, the entire structure should be insulated. So the ideal combo for the external wall is INSIDE HOUSE - THERMAL MASS - INSULATION - OUTSIDE HOUSE. You don't need to have any mass in the external walls. You can keep it in the floor or the interior walls - but the same principle holds, the mass is WITHIN the insulation. Re: Anyone know anything about Forma-Tech Wall Building Syst 11Jun 13, 2011 12:14 am Thanks for explaining it so clearly - that's what I had in my mind, obviously was as clear as mud writing it down! So the outer concrete walls of formatech are a bit of overkill as you don't need the thermal mass on the exterior walls? Although they are insulated you're paying for thermal mass in essentially the wrong place. Is that right? Re: Anyone know anything about Forma-Tech Wall Building Syst 12Jun 13, 2011 12:27 am Yes, the outer skin is redundant from a thermal point of view but useful for a durability one. But most ICFs are insulation:mass:insulation which makes the mass redundant thermally and the external cladding is not as durable. Re: Anyone know anything about Forma-Tech Wall Building Syst 13Jun 13, 2011 12:13 pm If I was using their website to make a decision on using this product, no chance. Green energy bricks are just expensive. Not sure what is the best product to build the walls out of. Maybe look at sip. Good Luck Pulpo I had an old shower unit that broke on me and when I took it off, there were only 2 water pipes, instead of the normal 2 water pipes and a shower head pipe. S o I… 0 34212 The most definitive answer to your question James is this taken from the James Hardie Axon Cladding Installation Guide - i just happen to have it… 5 2050 Thanks for responding. Do you know of anyone installing this product in Sydney? 2 3006 |