INSULATED TRANSLUCENT MEMBRANE
Experience the next generation of Roofing
As the world's first and only translucent and insulated tensile fabric roofing material, Tensotherm™ is unlike anything you've ever experienced.
Tensotherm™ is a composite material comprised of three component materials:
1. PTFE fiberglass fabric membrane exterior skin
2. Translucent blanket, embedded with revolutionary aerogel thermal and acoustic insulation
3. PTFE fiberglass acoustic or vapor barrier interior liner
Tensotherm provides invaluable benefits directly to people living and working under it. These include: diffused glare-free natural daylight; enhanced temperature control, even in the most extreme environments; remarkable acoustics; and innovative sustainability.
Numerous studies document these benefits and show improved teaching and learning for schools, improved productivity for offices and manufacturing facilities, improved sales for shopping malls and improved healing rates hospitals.
Benefits of an Insulated Tensioned Membrane System
Daylighting
Tensotherm allows sunlight to pass through, providing diffused glare-free daylighting to the interior environment. With daylighting comes numerous benefits, including energy and cost savings on interior lighting and boosts in productivity, learning, and healing.
Insulation
Aerogel is the world's most effective thermal insulation. Tensotherm's insulation value can be scaled to fit a project's needs by adding additional layers of aerogel-filled blankets. Tensotherm's insulation reduces HVAC energy consumption, requirements and costs. Best of all, Tensotherm's insulation effectiveness cannot deteriorate over time or under compression as with traditional insulations.
Acoustics
Tensotherm is ideal where significant acoustic dampening is desired or required. With a Tensotherm roof, even the din of a large and cavernous space, like a gymnasium or arena, can be made to sound more like an intimate living room setting. Tensotherm can block out the sound of a jet taking off, or hold the sound of rock concert inside. Tensotherm's remarkable sound attenuation ability is due to its aerogel core and interior PTFE-coated acoustical membrane liner.
Lightweight
Comprised of 95% air, aerogel is the world's lightest solid material, making aerogel a perfect fit for lightweight PTFE fiberglass fabric membrane. Together, this combination of materials delivers a composite system that is lighter than any other insulated roofing option. Decreased weight limits the need for heavy supporting structures, minimizing material usage and cost, and reduces energy consumption for shipping and installation.
Long-span
Tensotherm is engineered to be installed in tension, over vast expanses, through proven construction methodologies of tensile architecture. Employing a tensile architectural strategy, no other insulated roofing material can create a long-span roof more efficiently than Tensotherm.
Aesthetics
Like traditional fabric architecture, which is installed in tension through principles of tensile architecture, Tensotherm's light weight and freedom of form allows for unlimited design possibilities in any application. A Tensotherm roof and traditional PTFE roof are very similar in appearance, differing only by degree of light transmittance.
Longevity
The world's first PTFE fiberglass fabric membrane roof was built in the United States in 1973 and continues to look and function to specified standards. Extremely durable and weather resistant in any climate, PTFE fiberglass roofs easily have life-spans in excess of 30 years.
Unlike traditional insulations, the unique composition of the aerogel blanket prevents it from losing any of its insulating value over time. Aerogel is also a hydrophobic material, making it resistant to moisture and mold.
Maintaining a Tensotherm roof is easy, affordable and environmentally safe. To keep its bright white appearance, PTFE roofs can be cleaned periodically simply with water and a mild detergent. No harsh chemicals are required.
Tensotherm patent number is "U.S. Patent No. 8,899,000".
