Among the alternatives for improving the thermal comfort conditions inside buildings are the thermally activated building systems (TABS). They are embedded in different building components to improve the indoor air temperature. In this work, a review and analysis of the state of the art of TABS was carried out to identify their potential to improve thermal comfort conditions and provide energy savings. Furthermore, this study presents the gaps identified in the literature so that researchers can develop future studies on TABS. The articles found were classified and analyzed in four sections, considering their implementation in roofs, walls, floors, and the whole envelope. In addition, aspects related to the configuration of the TABS and the fluid (speed, temperature, and mass flow rate) were analyzed. It was found that when TABS are implemented in roofs, walls, and floors, a reduction in the indoor temperature of a building of up to 14.4 °C can be obtained. Within the limitations of the TABS, the complexity and costs of their implementation compared to the use of air conditioning systems are reported. However, the TABS can provide energy savings of up to 50%.

The conventional Trombe wall (TW) with concrete construction has been shown to enhance the indoor environment of buildings in cold and Mediterranean climates. Thus, a TW is an option for reducing energy consumption related to thermal comfort for buildings in the northwestern region of Mexico, characterized by arid and semi-arid conditions with low winter temperatures. The thermal behavior of the TW and a conventional facade (CF) of concrete were compared when installed in the southern wall of reduced-scale test boxes in Ensenada, B.C. Unlike other research works available in the literature, which typically monitored a data point measure of the wall and room temperatures, the present study measured the temperature of key components: the absorber wall, the air at the bottom and top vents, the glass cover, and the air at the cross-section plane of the TW test box. The results showed that the TW increases the air temperature through its channel up to ${14}^{ \circ }$C and yields a maximum thermal efficiency of 84% during a sunny winter week. Further, the indoor air temperature at the midpoint of the TW test module is up to $6^{ \circ }$C greater than the obtained on the CF-test module; therefore, the TW improved the thermal comfort conditions during winter.