Do thermal mass credits exist?
COM check accounts for thermal mass in walls using the same algorithms and parameters used in ENVSTD: heat capacity and insulation position. In ENVSTD values for these inputs are entered directly by the user; in COM check default heat capacity and insulation position parameters are provided based on your selection of wall type. The exception to this is the Other wall category, for which you must specify the heat capacity. All COM check compliance calculations assume that any insulation in an above-grade exterior wall (or above-grade portion of a below-grade wall assembly) is integral with the thermal mass of the wall, as opposed to assuming the insulation is either on the exterior or on the interior of the wall. This assumption was made because the insulation position has little impact, producing a maximum of about a 1% change in cumulative space-condition loads in a high-mass wall. In addition, for many wall assemblies, it is difficult to determine which of the three options — interi
