Importance

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Abstract

An insulation system (10, 180) is placed in ceilings or walls of buildings which are typically exposed on one side thereof to relatively large temperature changes and on the other side to relatively small temperature changes. The insulation system (10, 180) includes a first inner layer of insulative material (18, 184) and a second outer layer of insulative material (19, 186), with an intermediate layer of phase change material (20, 182) sandwiched therebetween. The phase change material undergoes a change of phase between solid state and liquid state during the course of a typical day due to the outside temperature ranging higher and lower than the phase change temperature. When undergoing a change of phase, the phase change material maintains a constant phase change temperature, thereby moderating the temperature gradient across the inner layer of insulative material (18, 184). Thus, the heat transfer across the inner layer of insulative material (18, 184) is minimized and the temperature of interior space (22) is more efficiently maintained at a relatively constant temperature.

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First Claim