FAQ - Construction methods

Inertia of the building

In general the more density a material has, the greater the material's ability to store energy.

What is the interest?

A building with a high inertia will limit the discomfort induced by temperature variations by weakening them. As well in winter if you leave the door open and all the hot air escapes, the volume of the room will return very quickly to the original temperature due to the radiation energy contained in the walls of the room; and even in summer, the walls transmit their freshness and store the heat that will be so little or not perceived by the inhabitant.
This implies good night ventilation in order to unload the material of the heat stored during the day. To profit as much as possible from this mechanism it is necessary that the building has good insulation from the outside.

In the case of a wood-frame construction the inertia may be found in the floor tiles and/or in the supporting wall (inside) that could be built in a material with high inertia.

Storing solar gains for free : if the orientation of the building and the position of the openings (windows) are well designed, the sunny winter days will allow energy storage from the sunlight. It will then be restored in the evening until the next day. This will reduce the energy consumption for heating.

Thus it will be necessary to plan adequate solar occultation so that in summer, this mechanism does not lead to an overheating of the building.

Bring a sensation of thermal quality comfort : For an ambient air temperature the perceived comfort associated with a radiating source is higher than the one associated with convection heating or ventilation. Indeed, the body reacts not only to the temperature of the air but also the wall temperature which is transmitted by radiation.

Useful links :

• Guide ADEME on the exterior insulation
• Ecopedia article on thermal insulation
• GreenPowerHouse - A serious blog, to use with apprehension !

Constructive methods

• Constructive methods
• Outside Insulation
• Thermal bridges
• Inertia of the building
• Airtightness
• Wood manufacture & timber frame construction
• Clay blocks for monolithic walls & autoclave cellular Concrete (ACC), or autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC)
• Window performance
• Green Insulation (cellulose wadding, hemp, wool & wood fibers, straw...)

Frequently asked questions

• Passive House (Passivhaus)
• Low-energy House (BBC Effinergie)
• Bioclimatic Architecture & Buildings
• High energy performance labels in France
• Regulatory framework: thermal regulations (RT 2005)
• HPE label (2005)
• HPE EnR label (2005)
• THPE label (2005)
• THPE EnR label (2005)
• BBC - BBC Effinergie ® label
• Energy-plus Building (BEPOS)
• HQE® approach
• Ecolabels
• Constructive methods
• Outside Insulation
• Thermal bridges
• Inertia of the building
• Airtightness
• Wood manufacture & timber frame construction
• Clay blocks for monolithic walls & autoclave cellular Concrete (ACC), or autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC)
• Window performance
• Green Insulation (cellulose wadding, hemp, wool & wood fibers, straw...)
• Ventilation of the building
• Energy Recovery ventilation (EVR)
• Ground-coupled heat exchanger
• Natural Ventilation
• Windcatcher
• Renewable Energy
• Photovoltaic system
• Solar thermal energy
• Geothermal energy and heat pumps
• Biomass-wood heating
• Wind turbine
• Hydroelectricity
• Primary Energy
• Energy performance certificate (DPE)
• Carbon assessment (Bilan Carbone®)