Thermal mass is critical in stabilising room temperature in buildings. A lack of thermal mass leads to temperature peaks in the building, especially during summer months and may raise the energy costs.
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THERMAL MASS EFFECT = THERMAL INERTA
Thermal mass is the ability of a material to absorb and store heat. The thermal mass performance is determined by thermal conductivity and high specific heat capacity to maximise the heat that can be stored per kg material.
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The advantage of Phase Change Materials is they can store heat energy in a latent as well as sensible manner leading to a greater heat storage capacity per unit volume than that of conventional materials.
The following diagramme compares the heat storage of DuPont™ Energain® with some conventional construction materials at a thickness of 5 mm each and in a temperature window of 18-24 °C.
A concrete vs. Energain® comparison study run by Lyon University, France has demonstrated that 5 mm of Energain® behaves like approximately 20- 40 mm of concrete, depending on temperature.
For further information on the study, please click here.
