EAACA Tool heat wave
New EAACA Tool “AAC heat-wave” released: Building in summer – what actually matters? Recent summer heat periods have made one thing clear: buildings need to
Summer thermal behaviour is becoming increasingly important in European building design. Hotter summers, longer heat periods and higher comfort expectations are changing the way wall constructions are assessed. It is no longer sufficient to look only at steady-state thermal insulation. For summer performance, it is also important to understand how a wall construction reacts to the daily external temperature wave.
The AAC heat-wave Tool for Wall Constructions makes this behaviour easier to understand and compare.
It gives users a practical way to calculate, interpret and compare the dynamic thermal behaviour of different wall build-ups — from simple monolithic AAC walls to insulated multilayer systems and inhomogeneous constructions such as timber-frame walls. The tool is transparent, browser-based and designed to support fact-based discussions on summer comfort, thermal damping and effective heat storage.
What makes the tool useful?
With the AAC heat-wave Tool, users can create wall constructions layer by layer and calculate key dynamic thermal indicators according to EN ISO 13786. These indicators describe how much of an external heat wave passes through the wall, how strongly it is reduced, when it reaches the room side and how much heat can be temporarily stored by the construction.
This helps to move the discussion beyond simple U-values. A wall with a low U-value may perform well in winter, but summer behaviour also depends on damping, delay and heat capacity. The tool shows these effects in a transparent way and allows different construction principles to be compared directly.
Instead of looking only at isolated material values, the tool helps users see the full picture: how each layer contributes, how the sequence of layers influences the result, and how different wall systems behave under dynamic summer conditions.
Apractical starting point for better decisions
The AAC heat-wave Tool is intended as a transparent and practical starting point for comparing wall constructions. It does not replace detailed building simulation, project-specific hygrothermal assessment or national regulatory verification.
The summer comfort of a room is influenced by many factors: window size, orientation, solar shading, ventilation strategy, internal heat gains, night cooling, climate data and user behaviour. A wall construction is only one part of this system. Nevertheless, the dynamic behaviour of the wall can make an important contribution to reducing and delaying heat flows during hot periods.
The tool helps users understand this contribution. It makes the assumptions visible, allows systematic comparison and explains why summer performance should not be judged by one single value alone. A favourable construction combines useful delay with strong damping, so that the heat wave is not only shifted to a later time but also reaches the room side with lower intensity.
Start exploring
Open the tool, create or load a wall construction, adapt the material values and compare different build-ups.
Discover how material choices, layer sequence, thermal mass, insulation position and construction type influence the summer thermal behaviour of wall systems. Use the results as a basis for discussion, early-stage design comparison and better understanding of dynamic thermal performance.
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