Chemical and polymer giant DuPont has launched new thermal mass panels that could revolutionise sustainable building technology, achieving finalist status for the Carbon Trust Innovation Awards 2007.
The DuPont-patented Energain® thermal mass panels “significantly slow down temperature increases within a room, reducing temperature peaks by as much as 7°C, providing greater comfort for consumers and reducing the need for air conditioning”.

Conversely, the company also points out that, “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 believes Energain® “provides a long-term sustainable solution to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in public, commercial and residential building”. It estimates that through its use buildings can realize average savings in air conditioning of 35% and up to 15% in heating system costs.

Energain®  is comprised of “a lightweight, easy-to- install 5mm aluminium-laminated panel, containing a copolymer and paraffin wax compound” which it says can be installed on the interior walls and ceilings of a building, behind the plasterboard lining, together with a mechanical ventilation system. Another advantage of the product is that it is similar in its dimensions to an ordinary plasterboard panel,  but is only half the weight and is simple to install.

http://www2.dupont.com