A building system comprising of a plurality of panels wherein the building system is configured to be either superposed an existing structure or a ground surface. The plurality of panels of the building system are shaped so as to be mateable when place adjacent to each other. The panels include a bottom and walls that form an interior volume. The bottom and walls of the panels are manufactured from a thermally conductive material such as but not limited to metal. The interior volume of the panels are filled with a lightweight structural material such as but not limited to polyurethane foam or autoclaved concrete. A first temperature source is disposed within the panels and is configured to have a fluid pass therethrough. A second temperature source is present and is a heating element. The panels are operable to utilize either temperature sources.

An article comprising a double-switching heater that comprises a double-switching PTC ink deposited on a flexible substrate to form one or more resistors. The double-switching PTC ink comprises a first resin and a second resin; the first resin provides a first PTC effect within a first temperature range (T1, T2); the second resin provides a second PTC effect within a second temperature range (T3, T4), where T3T2; the first resin has an NTC effect above the first temperature range; the second PTC effect is greater than the first PTC effect; and the second PTC effect overlaps with, and is greater than, the NTC effect of the first resin. The substrate can be either thermal polyurethane, nylon or a polyester blend.

An underlayment membrane between a base surface and an outer coating of a building surface includes a base layer and multiple protrusions extending from the base layer to retain conditioning elements. The protrusions define a plurality of paths, between their side walls for the conditioning elements, which include: first straight portions defined by pairs of protrusions positioned side by side and spaced apart by a distance at most equal to the thickness of the conditioning elements, to hold them by friction; one or more second corrugated portions defined by two or more protrusions spaced apart by a predefined distance greater than the thickness of the conditioning elements and arranged in pairs aligned along lines, which obliquely intersect the path so that a conditioning element is retained by elastic-mechanical contrast with the side walls of the protrusions, the first and second portions of the paths being aligned with each other.

A heat collector device is provided. The heat collector includes an exterior surface exposed to an environment, and an interior surface. Side walls separate the exterior and interior surfaces. A heat insulation interposes the exterior and interior surfaces. Each hot air duct includes a first portion interfacing with the external surface and a second portion interfacing with the heat insulation. Each cold air duct is encompassed by the heat insulation. A first chamber formed by a first side wall provides fluidic communication between the air ducts at a first end portion of each respective duct. A second chamber formed by a second side wall provides fluidic communication between the air ducts at a second end portion of each respective duct. A heat exchange mechanism disposed in the second chamber removes heat from a first fluidic medium of the air ducts, the first chamber, and the second chamber.

Floor and ceiling panels and methods of constructing a floor system for a building are described. In some embodiments, a panel includes a plurality of joists, a corrugated form deck disposed above and attached to the plurality of joists, a ceiling substrate disposed below and attached to the plurality of joists, and an in-floor radiant heat member disposed between the corrugated form deck and the ceiling substrate. In some embodiments, the panel includes a plurality of joists, a corrugated form deck disposed above and attached to the plurality of joists, and a sound dampener disposed between the corrugated form deck and the plurality of joists. In some embodiments, the method includes attaching a pre-assembled panel to a frame of the building and pouring concrete onto the panel so that a radiant heat member is separated from the concrete by a corrugated form deck of the panel.

A support structure for a heating or cooling system, comprising: a base; and a plurality of projections extending from said base, said projections being capable of retaining one or more thermal elements positioned adjacent thereto; wherein each of said projections comprises a wall extending from said base, at least part of said wall having an oscillating form. Forming the wall that extends from the base such that it has an oscillating form increases the crush resistance of the support structure. During installation, there are many potential sources of pressure that can crush and/or damage the structure. For example, an installer may stand on the structure while inserting the thermal elements. Additionally, heavy equipment may be placed upon the structure with its load applied through a small area. The crush resistance of the structure comes largely from the walls of the projections. Oscillating wall provides a wall which has an effective thickness greater than its actual thickness and which increases the crush resistance of the structure without a large increase in material.

A double-switching heater includes a double-switching PTC ink deposited on a substrate to form one or more resistors. The double-switching PTC ink has a first resin that provides a first PTC effect at a first temperature range and a second resin that provides a second PTC effect at a second temperature range, where the second temperature range is higher than the first temperature range. The substrate may be a flexible substrate or a rigid substrate, and may bedeformable to generate a three-dimensional structure. The substrate may be: polyester, polyimide, polyamide, polypropylene, thermoplastic polyurethane, fiberglass, cement board, carbon composite materials, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, aluminum, steel, glass composite, molded plastic, high-density polyethylene or styrene ethylene butylene styrene.

A framed element includes an insulating core layer, an upper surface layer arranged on the insulating core layer, a frame structure including frame profiles which have been arranged to form at least part of the outer edges of the element and elongated support profiles in the length and/or width direction of the element. The insulating core layer is made of foamed glass or a combination of lightweight aggregates and a fire-retardant resin. The element further includes an elastic sealing compound arranged at least partly between the core layer and the upper surface layer of the element.

A self-assembly hot water mat capable of extending through an assembly, the self-assembly hot water mat capable of being assembled with other self-assembly hot water mats, having four sides, and including a path for circulating hot water includes a plurality of hot water passages formed in the self-assembly hot water mat to provide a plurality of hot water flow paths, an inlet formed at each of the four sides, through which hot water flows in, and an outlet formed at each of the four sides and paired with the inlet, through which hot water flows out.

In a first aspect, a system for heating, cooling, or both heating and cooling a room is disclosed. The system includes a panel with a first, second, and third wall. The second wall is disposed between the first and third walls and separated by a plurality of partitions. The partitions create a first and second row of elongated channels. Each channel in the first row is bounded on two sides by two partitions and on two other sides by the first and second walls. Each channel in the second row is bounded on two sides by two partitions and on two other sides by the second and third walls. The first row of channels is a fluid layer configured to allow heated or cooled fluid to pass through. The fluid layer is in thermal communication with the room. The second row of channels is an insulating vacuum layer, with a reduced pressure that is at least 20% less than atmospheric pressure.