Get Sust! Issue 28

Phase-change materials deliver lightweight thermal mass

DuPont’s new Energain (R) thermal mass panels have just arrived in the UK, and have reached the final of the 2007 Carbon Trust Innovation Award. The patented thermal mass panels slow down temperature increases within a room, reducing temperature peaks by as much as 7 degrees C, reducing the need for air-conditioning. Conversely, as temperatures drop, the absorbed heat in the panels is released, slowing down the cooling of rooms and lessening the need to resort to heating systems. DuPont says that a building utilising Energain(R) can save an average of 35 percent on air-conditioning cost savings and up to 15 percent in heating system costs.

The lightweight, 5mm aluminium-laminated Energain panels contain a copolymer and paraffin wax compound. Heat fluctuations in the building during the course of the day induce a ‘phase change’ reaction in this compound at molecular level, so that the panels store and release heat to help maintain an even indoor temperature. Studies have demonstrated that the panels can minimise temperature peaks in a building by up to 7°C.

Learn more:

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Product test results and further details are at www2.dupont.com/Energain/en_GB/uses_apps/uses_apps2/case_studies.html.