Thermakon — complete building envelope

The complete
thermal stack.

PDRC + TEG + PCM engineered as a single coherent envelope system. Every layer does at least two jobs. The assembly is greater than the sum of its parts.

thermakon.com — registered
Layer by layer

From space to
interior — the stack

Each layer is an independent function. Together they form a thermodynamic cascade — heat rejected at the outermost surface never reaches the interior.

PDRC coating BaSO₄-based elastomeric paint. 95%+ solar reflectance (0.3–2.5 μm). Strong emittance in 8–13 μm atmospheric window. Applied by roller or sprayer. Compatible with any substrate. First line of defense — rejects solar load before it enters the envelope. −20°C
Clip-rail standoff 8–12mm ventilated air gap between PDRC face and structure. Emergent function: acts as angular selective radiative cooler and directional emission optimizer. Allows convective flow to carry residual heat away from surface. Rail enables field-swappable TEG tiles. ventilated
TEG harvest layer Thermoelectric generator tiles bonded to structural face. Hot side toward wall mass or PCM; cold side toward ventilated gap. Exploits ΔT to generate 0.5–2.5W per panel in peak conditions. Not a cooling mechanism — a byproduct harvest. Adds no load to the thermal stack. 0.5–2.5W
PCM thermal mass 15–25mm phase change material liner. Melt point matched to target comfort range (76–80°F typical for habitable spaces, lower for electronics enclosures). Absorbs peak load during hot hours, releases stored cool during evening. Decouples structural thermal mass from interior climate control requirements. 76–80°F
Structural wall / roof Standard construction substrate — metal, CMU, wood frame, SIP, or concrete. The Thermakon stack is substrate-agnostic. What reaches the structure has already been rejected, harvested, and buffered three times. ambient −
Geothermal coupling Optional pier-integrated ground heat exchanger. Ground at 4–6ft depth in limestone terrain runs 65–72°F year-round. Closes the loop — residual thermal load conducted to ground rather than rejected to ambient air. Premier tier only. +65°F
Engineering surprise

Emergent functions of
the clip-rail system

None of the following were designed in. All emerged from the modular architecture of the clip-rail standoff system — discovered during analysis of how the assembly behaves as a whole.

Swappable panel interface

Panels click onto DIN-style rail — field-replaceable without removing adjacent panels. Upgrade TEG tiles or PDRC coating grade in place.

Ventilated thermal standoff

The air gap between rail and structure allows natural convection to carry residual heat away — functioning as a secondary cooling mechanism.

Macroscopic angular selective emitter

Panel geometry and rail spacing create a directional emission profile — preferentially emitting toward the cold sky sink at angles above horizontal.

Site-tunable directional optimizer

Rail tilt angle can be adjusted at install time to optimize emission geometry for local latitude, terrain shading, and sky view factor.

The core technology

BaSO₄ dual mechanism

The PDRC coating uses barium sulfate (BaSO₄) nanoparticles in an elastomeric binder. BaSO₄ achieves high reflectance through two simultaneous mechanisms identified in the Liu 2024 Advanced Materials research: Mie scattering in the solar spectrum and phonon-polariton resonance in the mid-infrared emission band.

Solar spectrum

Mie scattering

BaSO₄ particle size is tuned to the solar spectrum (0.3–2.5 μm). Photons scatter from the particle surface rather than being absorbed. The coating appears brilliant white — not because it absorbs and re-emits, but because light physically bounces off the particles before reaching the substrate.

  • Solar reflectance: 97.5% (lab measured)
  • Particle size: 0.5–1.5 μm optimized
  • No UV degradation pathway
Emission spectrum

Phonon-polariton resonance

In the 8–13 μm mid-infrared range, BaSO₄ exhibits strong phonon-polariton resonance — the crystal lattice vibration couples with electromagnetic radiation to produce extremely efficient thermal emission directly into the atmospheric window. Heat exits the building and travels to space.

  • Emittance: 0.95+ in 8–13 μm window
  • Atmospheric window: 97% transmissive
  • Effective cold sink: 3K outer space

Retrofit your building

Thermakon installations begin with a site thermal assessment. We need a minimum 30-day baseline before the first gram of coating goes on.

See building tiers Get assessment