Thermally Activated Building Structures (TABS)

Download our specifier’s guide towards a carbon-zero future

This whitepaper aims to demonstrating how TABS works, why it’s necessary and its value for construction in a low-carbon economy.

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REHAU TABS specifiers guide front cover October 2021 - 1097705

Efficient heating and cooling for buildings

Energy cost, carbon reduction and legislation drive the need to find new and innovative ways to heat and cool modern buildings. Thermally Activated Building Structures - or TABS – is an innovative cooling and heating system engineered to meet these high requirements.

TABS utilises the large thermal mass of concrete building structures as a buffer for the changing cooling or heating loads during the day. It does this by running hot or cold water through pipes within the slab.

TABS is proving itself as an efficient low energy cooling system on various BREEAM "Excellent" and "Very Good", and Passivhaus certified projects across the UK.

Benefits

Thermally activated building structures have the following benefits;

Low investment and operating costs
"Gentle cooling" without draft effects
Reduced air exchange in combination with ventilation systems
No sick building syndrome
Use of alternative energy sources
Low flow temperatures

Energy Savings

Air

Chiller

Comfort Levels

Lower air volumes -
> less energy required
& reduced fan size

Higher temps (15-18°C)

compared to AC (6-12°C)

Increased comfort and
reduced draughts

Noise Reduction

COP uplift of chiller

1°C increase in room temp
= ca. 6% energy savings

Applications

Typical applications of Thermally Activated Building Structures:

Offices
Hospitals
Retail
Museums / galleries
Transport hubs / stations
Sport centres / arena

Installation Methods

In-situ concrete slabs

Large circuits possible
Minimal connections within structure
Around 300m² installed per day (2 people)
Can sit anywhere within structural slab

Precast concrete planks

Offsite construction methods
Quick to install on site
Easy connections into building services
High cooling capacity of up to 90W/m²

Pre-fabricated mesh

Fast installation
Can be used for PT slab applications
Better outputs when near slab surface
Ideal for Tichelmann Loops
2 options - sTABS or TABS module

REHAU EVERLOC^TM system

Beyond the REHAU PE-Xa pipe, the jointing system plays a central role. Over 850 million fittings have been installed worldwide, our jointing system consists of only 2 components; a compression sleeve and fitting.

Benefits:

Fast and easy to install
No hot works on site, no mess
10 year comprehensive warranty
No O-ring
Installation is immediately able to handle pressure loads

Market Research

Here at REHAU we aim to provide the best service offering we can to our customers. We are constantly striving to educate the industry with the expert knowledge we retain as well as learning more about our customer’s needs. For this, we are currently conducting a market research survey to gather feedback on the current understanding of TABS and how the industry sees the market developing. The survey will take approximate 4 minutes to complete and consists of a maximum of 13 questions.

Click here to complete the survey.

Downloads

13.09.2023 TABS (Thermally Activated Building Structures)

Sales brochure

Download
(pdf, 5 MB)

18.07.2023 REHAU multi-occupancy

Sales brochure

Download
(pdf, 12 MB)

20.03.2024 Heating & Cooling

Sales brochure

Download
(pdf, 7 MB)

20.07.2023 TABS (Thermally Activated Building Structures)

Technical information

Download
(pdf, 7 MB)

03.07.2023 NEA Smart 2.0 - Service Manual

Service Manual for designer, installer and service partner for TABS CCT – sCCT – IFH applications

Download
(pdf, 4 MB)

Projects

2016 REHAU at the heart of Tate Modern

REHAU’s Thermally Activated Building Structure (TABS) system is at the heart of the newly opened £260m extension to Tate Modern on London’s South Bank.