Phase Change Matters

Furniture maker HSM of Hickory, N.C., has announced the introduction of CoolACTIVE foams for the bedding industry. The PCM-laden foam is designed to diffuse body heat. The product comes in three forms: a viscoelastic memory foam that offers 25 percent heat transference, a gel that offers 35 percent heat transference and a foam that incorporates graphite particles and offers 40 percent heat transference.   

Puma's new TitanTour golf shoe features temperature-regulating phase change material in its lining. The Outlast technology is designed to keep the wearer comfortable by absorbing, storing and releasing heat as conditions demand.

  

Guitar-maker Gibson has entered the headphone market with a bluetooth model designed with help from Olympic champion sprinter Usain Bolt. The Trainer, geared toward athletes, employs Outlast phase change material to keep the ear pads at a comfortable temperature. The weather- and sweat-resistant headphones are expected to be available in April with a retail price of $239.

http://www.twice.com/news/headphones/gibson-enters-headphones-new-brand/55465

Pluss Polymers of India has won a CII Industrial Innovation Award for its neonate cooler. The MiraCradle, the New Delhi company's first health-care product, is a low-cost passive cooling device for treating newborns suffering from birth asphyxia. It was developed in collaboration with Christian Medical College of Vellore, India.

Birth asphyxia – lack of sufficient oxygen at birth – kills hundreds of thousands of newborns in the developing world each year. Research shows that cooling the body temperature of a newborn suffering from birth asphyxia can help protect the brain from damage. 

The device uses Pluss Polymers' "form-stable" phase change materials, savE FS-21 and FS-29. The manufacturer says the PCMs can be charged in a typical refrigerator.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/pluss-polymers-wins-cii-industrial-innovation-award-2014-for-miracradle-neonate-cooler/516283-24.html

Former University of Maryland star Ekene Ibekwe is playing pro basketball in New Zealand, where he is touting Sleepyhead's Sanctuary bed. Phase change material is used to "absorb and distribute excess heat from around the body and dissipate it down through the mattress." "I’ve definitely noticed a difference since switching to Sanctuary,” says Ibekwe, a 6-9 forward who has also played professionally in Israel, France, Turkey, Iran, Spain, Germany and Puerto Rico. "I was after a firmer bed and now my aches and pains have disappeared!” 

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1411/S00658/dont-just-rise-shine-with-sleepyheads-best-bed-ever.htm

 
http://prolandscapermagazine.com/power-revolution-british-gardens-ego

Outlast Technologies’ new Universe climate-control material is designed for use in bedding and apparel. The material is a combination of 70 percent down and 70 PCM-laden viscose fibers. Thicker fibers carry a greater amount of phase change material. “The performance compared to a standard PCM viscose fibre here is four times higher,” says Martin Bentz, managing director of Outlast Europe.