Technology: Thermo-Active Building Systems: operational experience practice report
Thermo-active building systems (TABS) have - since their implementation in initial projects in the 1980s in Switzerland - become established as innovative systems for surface heating and cooling with significant economical and ecological potential. In 2007 in Germany alone about 845,000 m2 of surfaces with thermal activation capacity have been newly installed, while cooling ceilings and concrete core activation roughly have equal market shares. About 60 % of new office buildings are cooled in summer by TABS - and, in part, heated in winter. Particularly low energy buildings with optimised comprehensive concepts for architecture, building physics, and building services have low performance rates and energy demands for heating and cooling. Users desire comfortable interior climates throughout the year, but are often sceptical about conventional HVAC systems.
