ecoPhaser

Buildings account for a major share of global energy use, and cooling is among the largest and fastest-growing contributors. Traditional HVAC systems regulate temperature by blowing hot or cold air, which causes drafts, noise, and temperature fluctuations, effectively forcing a trade-off between efficiency and comfort. Building owners and operators want lower electricity bills, reduced runtime, and simpler management of their subsystems, while occupants expect quiet, stable, and comfortable indoor conditions. Meeting both sets of expectations at once, and doing so in existing buildings as well as new construction, required a fundamentally different approach to climate control.

ecoPhaser combines passive materials science with intelligent, demand-responsive control.

• Phase-change materials at the core: Phase-change materials integrated into the suspended climate ceiling store heat when indoor temperatures rise and release it when they fall, naturally stabilizing the indoor climate without drafts or noise, and cutting the energy needed for both cooling and heating.
• Night charging, day cooling: The ceiling panels are cooled and "charged" overnight, then absorb excess heat during occupied hours, shifting climate load away from peak periods.
• AI-driven optimization: On top of the passive system, operation is optimized each night based on forecasted outdoor temperatures, expected occupancy, and real-time electricity prices, so the system runs only when conditions and tariffs are most favorable.
• Integrated Building Management System (BMS): A fully integrated BMS centralizes climate, lighting, low-voltage, audio-video, and emergency systems into a single, smart building ecosystem, tailored and expandable to client needs.

ecoPhaser validated the system in a live field trial at the Bcombinator headquarters in Barcelona, using identical upper floors as phase-change and reference levels to enable precise, floor-by-floor energy measurement:

• Verified energy and cost savings: In hot-day / warm-night Mediterranean coastal conditions, daily energy consumption was reduced by 42.4%, resulting in 48.4% cost savings. In hot-day / cool-night inland conditions, consumption fell by 58.3%, delivering 62.7% cost savings.
• Broader efficiency potential: Depending on configuration and building type, the solution supports 35–60% reductions in cooling energy demand and 30–40% reductions in lighting energy consumption.
• Outstanding occupant comfort: Users reported exceptional thermal comfort and silent, draft-free operation. Acoustic performance exceeded expectations, with employees not noticing any change to the suspended ceiling even in an office without sound-absorbing surfaces.