Sunshine and high temperatures make it clear that summer is here but warm or hot summer weather can create problems of its own.
The construction of the BASF "LuMit" Employee Center for Work-Life Management of BASF in Ludwigshafen saw the use of gypsum boards containing the Micronal® PCM latent heat storage material that ensures intelligent temperature management.
The rooms inside buildings, for example, can become very hot, which has a negative effect on the wellbeing and the performance of the people living or working there. Construction products based on Micronal® PCM by BASF constitute an alternative to or a complementary solution for power-consuming air conditioning systems. The current introduction of the gypsum "Comfortboard 23" by Knauf, a manufacturer of construction systems, means that an innovative, ready-to-use construction product was launched in the German market, which is going to be available worldwide.
Comfortable room temperatures
When temperatures rise, the Micronal PCM material within the board gets activated. Through absorbing and storing superfluous heat as and when required, the micro-encapsulated Micronal phase change material ensures that the ambient room temperature remains comfortable for longer. This is achieved through the paraffin wax core of the microscopically small Micronal PCM polymer capsules, which starts to melt around temperatures of 23° Celsius; this leads to an absorption of heat and prevents the room temperature from rising. As soon as, for example during the night, the room is ventilated and the room temperature goes down, the absorbed heat gets re-released. The core of the Micronal PCM latent heat storage material cools down, solidifies and is once more ready to absorb the next temperature peak on the following day of summer weather.
Intelligent temperature management
Therefore, Micronal PCM facilitates intelligent temperature management – without the use of energy- and maintenance-intensive climate control systems. Another option is to combine an air-conditioning system with a latent heat storage facility. The air conditioning system needed in such a case would be much smaller.
"Gypsum boards are standardized construction materials that are used in virtually all building projects – irrespective of whether they are new build or renovation projects – to clad ceilings, attic slopes and wall systems. Hence, using boards made of Micronal PCM results neither in more work nor in additional installation costs during processing. There is, however, a significant increase in the building’s retention capacity, which constitutes an important contribution to sheltering it against summertime heat," explains Marco Schmidt, Head of Business Management Micronal PCM at BASF.
Use in virtually all building materials
Due to the minute size of its particles, Micronal PCM with its latent heat storage effect can be incorporated in virtually all building materials – from drywall boards to interior plaster.