The thermo-activated building system (TABS), which is considered to be an important measure to achieve the goal of dual control of energy and carbon in buildings, can reduce the building load by injecting low-grade energy to form a thermal barrier. The proposed system is based on controlling the heat transfer temperature difference of the envelope. This paper presents the classification and evaluation methods of TABS, and systematically compares and analyzes air-based, liquid-based and solidbased TABS from the perspectives of thermal performance, integrated design, sustainability and application potential. Existing studies show that the equivalent heat transfer coefficient of the envelope integrated with air-based TABS is less than 0.3 W/(m²· K). Permeable air-based TABS also has the dual effect of heat recovery and air purification; Liquid-based TABS is more advantageous in terms of integration and operational energy efficiency, with an equivalent heat transfer coefficient of the envelope down to -3.6 W/(m²·K); Solid-based TABS has the advantages of no working fluid, no moving parts and no noise, and its envelope equivalent heat transfer coefficient can be reduced to -3.0 W/(m²·K). However, issues such as its façade integration and commercialization of thermoelectric modules need to be addressed in the future.

thermo-activated building system  /  building envelope  /  classification method  /  performance evaluation  /  heat transfer coefficient