Notice of RetractionInvestigating the impact of thermal mass on building performance using computational simulation

Notice of Retraction

After careful and considered review of the content of this paper by a duly constituted expert committee, this paper has been found to be in violation of IEEE´s Publication Principles.

We hereby retract the content of this paper. Reasonable effort should be made to remove all past references to this paper.

The presenting author of this paper has the option to appeal this decision by contacting TPII@ieee.org.

Many building designers believe that thermal mass can significantly enhance the thermal performance of buildings in cold climate. This paper presents the technical details of a computational simulation study, showing that thermal mass distribution do not generate significant energy saving for a high-rise apartment buildings in cold climate. Six configurations, each with different level of thermal mass and distribution schemes, are studied. The results indicate that, for a high-rise apartment with Toronto´s cold climatic condition, the optimal design option is capable of achieving a thermal lag up to 9 hours and maintaining indoor surface temperature to within 1 degree Celsius of difference. Consequently, the peak loads of heating and cooling systems are reduced, resulting in better indoor temperature control. However, the simulation results show that the distribution of thermal mass does not significantly influence the building´s energy efficiency. This paper also discusses ongoing and future research.