Providing essential thermal mass in low inertia buildings
DuPont™ Energain® provides thermal mass solutions for low inertia buildings. Quick response buildings constructed from frames (timber, steel, aluminium etc.) and those insulated internally, lack the thermal mass properties that concrete and denser materials normally provide. This means that they can be greatly affected by additional heat loads.
DuPont™ Energain® absorbs and releases heat due to a phase change within the panel's innovative copolymer and paraffin compound, brought on by solar gains and external temperature changes. Explained in simple terms, when the temperature in a room hits 22°C a molecular 'phase change' takes place in the compound and the panels absorb heat, slowing down the temperature rise by as much as 7°C. Alternately, when the temperature drops to 18°C and below, the panels release the heat they have absorbed, thus increasing the temperature of the room.
For DuPont™ Energain® to work optimally, a room must have DuPont™ Energain® interior wall and ceiling panels plus a mechanical ventilation system.
By stabilizing the effects on room temperature at both ends of the scale, DuPont™ Energain® significantly reduces air conditioning and heating costs, provides greater comfort and enables architects and designers to build sustainable, innovative, cost-efficient buildings.
A safe product to handle
DuPont™ Energain® panels are extremely safe to handle and do not contain toxic substances. The inert panels simply contain paraffin wax, a copolymer and aluminium and can be handled without posing any threat to health and safety. For more details, and total explanation of the make up of DuPont™ Energain®, please contact us.
The science of DuPont™ Energain®
DuPont™ Energain® consists of a compound containing a Phase Change Material (PCM) of paraffin wax. At temperatures below 18 °C, the wax remains in a solidified state. Once the temperature inside a room reaches 22°C, due to solar gains and/or external temperatures, the phase change takes place and the paraffin wax melts. It is this phase change that absorbs the heat from a room into the DuPont™ Energain® panels. Conversely, as the internal temperature cools, reaching a temperature of 18°C, the paraffin wax re-solidifies, releasing heat back into the internal environment, as it does so.
