Office Thermal Mass Floors

Spend $3,000 now and SAVE $400 each year... ROI = 13.3%

Office buildings often have concrete slab construction, but many small businesses are based out of buildings that have floor joists. If you are undertaking a major retrofit or if you own the building, you can put carpet or tile on top of a sub-layer that goes over the plywood sub-floor. Given the added thermal mass weight you may need to double joists, increase joist sizes and/or put them at 12" vs. 16" on center. The added cost of Gyp Crete vs. Concrete is worth it for maintenance. You may pay about $3 / foot for Gyp Crete at a 1 1/4" depth.

In certain installations you may want to consider insulating the underside of the ceiling to keep the heat in the area that you are using. The thermal gain is significant since the masonry material holds the heat and the cool for up to six hours and re-releases it back into the room, thus reducing the demand on your A/C or Furnace during that percentage of the day. This works great in conjunction with radiant floors and/or rooms that have southern orientation and southern overhangs that shade in the summer and let heat in over the winter to warm the thermal mass. Similar benefits can come with thermal mass walls.

The ROI Calculation is based on 1,000 square feet of floors with utility bill savings in both summer and winter.

Payback Time in Years: Added Cost: Annual SAVINGS 5 Year SAVINGS Return on Investment (ROI):
7.5 $3,000 $400 $2,000 13.3%

 

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