Turning Ceiling Tiles Into Thermal Batteries: Mick Dunn on the Future of Buildings Titelbild

Turning Ceiling Tiles Into Thermal Batteries: Mick Dunn on the Future of Buildings

Turning Ceiling Tiles Into Thermal Batteries: Mick Dunn on the Future of Buildings

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The Green Impact Report Quick take: We've spent two decades pulling concrete out of buildings to cut carbon, and quietly lost the thermal mass that kept rooms comfortable. Mick Dunn's fix rides in on something every project already installs: the ceiling tile. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Mick Dunn is the Product Manager for Energy Saving Ceilings at Armstrong World Industries, where he brings phase change materials into everyday buildings. A Melbourne native, he studied construction management at RMIT, came to the US on an exchange at the University of Florida, and stayed. He spent his early career in commercial construction in Maine, then ran his own companies for 15+ years, first in commercial solar thermal and then developing phase change materials. One of those products started in his garage and is now scaled by Armstrong. His 20+ years sit right where advanced thermal storage meets real-world job sites. 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building In this episode, Mick Dunn rethinks the most overlooked surface in the building: the one over your head. Key Insight #1: The ceiling becomes a thermal battery. The Challenge: Ceilings are bought for looks and acoustics. When it comes to energy, they're dead space.The Solution: Armstrong's Templok puts a quarter-inch gelled-salt phase change layer on the back of standard ceiling tiles. Mick calls it "ice packs in your ceiling." As the room warms, the material melts at room temperature, absorbs the heat, and lets it go later.ROI: Peak room temperatures drop 2–3°F with no change to how the ceiling looks. Install is the same crew, ladders, and trucks, so the storage gets "a free ride." Key Insight #2: Put back the mass we stripped out. The Challenge: Lightweight, prefab, low-concrete construction cuts embodied carbon. It also strips out the thermal mass that used to steady indoor temperatures.The Solution: Phase change material adds thermal mass without the weight. Because drop ceilings are easy to reach, it also retrofits into existing buildings with known comfort problems.ROI: Owners get "a new dial they can turn" on problem buildings. It eases peak HVAC loads, helps with peak shaving, and makes occupants more comfortable without replacing equipment. Key Insight #3: Your ceiling can qualify for a federal tax credit. The Challenge: Upgrades like this lose at the budget table because they look like a pure added cost.The Solution: Thermal storage is eligible for the federal investment tax credit, just like battery storage and ground-source heat pumps.ROI: Planned well, Mick says, the ceiling can end up costing less than a standard one. That's alongside Armstrong's Declare labels, EPDs, HPDs, ceiling take-back program, and its new lowest-embodied-carbon tile. 💬 Sustainable Soundbite "The chief goal of a building should be for it to be sustainable to live in, heal in, and work in." – Mick Dunn 💚 Your Green Building Action Plan Transform your next project with these steps: This Week: List the buildings in your portfolio with the most comfort complaints, especially ones already due for a ceiling refresh. Those are your pilot candidates.This Quarter: Ask your tax advisor or incentives consultant whether ceiling-integrated thermal storage qualifies for the federal ITC on an upcoming project. Run the numbers before the ceiling spec is locked.This Year: Make thermal storage, acoustics, and thermal comfort part of your master spec and decarbonization roadmap. Then join your local USGBC chapter, as Mick did, to find the people already solving these problems. 🔗 Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://www.gbes.com/podcast 🗒️ Read the transcript: here 👩🏻‍💻 Connect with Mick Dunn: Website: Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (AWI)LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mick-dunn-62a19218/ 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 💡 Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips 2x a week. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter here: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 🤝 Today's Episode Sponsored By: Building Plaques Building Plaques creates custom LEED recognition plaques that tell the story of your project's sustainability achievement, made from architectural-grade anodized aluminum so they last as long as the building itself. Their online plaque designer lets you build a fully customized plaque in under 10 minutes. Just enter your LEED project number and you're off. 🔍 Learn more: https://buildingplaques.com Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.
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