Thermal Activated Building

Thermal activated building (TAB) is basically a simple technology. It has been a standard system for heating and cooling in the commercial sector for many years and is increasingly gaining ground in residential buildings as well. With climate change and the energy transition, the utilization of storage capacity is becoming increasingly interesting.

TAB is surface heating or cooling. Pipelines are laid in solid components through which water flows as a heating or cooling medium. The activated components give off or absorb heat over their entire surface – depending on the heating or cooling situation. In contrast to underfloor heating, which is laid in the screed, the pipes are installed on the lower reinforcement level or in the core of concrete ceilings or precast concrete parts before the concreting process, which thermally activates the entire component.

Due to the large transfer surfaces, the system temperatures can be kept very low (temperature difference between surface and room air approx. 1-6 °C), which makes thermal activated building ideal for the use of renewable energies. In addition to dissipating heating heat, the activation of ceilings is ideal for room temperature control in the warm season. In particular, the use of free re-cooling via geothermal heat exchangers, groundwater wells or chillers is a proven and resource-saving concept that can be used to keep apartments comfortably cool in summer, and at very low operating costs.

Due to the storage capacity and the low operating temperature, thermal activated building is predestined for the temporary storage of energy, which can then be consumed locally to a large extent (high degree of self-consumption).