Heating and cooling are no longer exclusively an architectural issue, but one that can be tackled with smart furniture design. This elegant-looking Climatic Table can regulate indoor temperatures by storing heat and increases energy savings by up to 60% for heating and 30% for cooling.

Designers Raphaël Ménard and Jean-Sébastien Lagrange created an entire series called Zero Energy Furniture that can “store a large quantity of thermal energy within a small volume.”

The first piece in the series is The Climatic Table, made from solid oak and corrugated anodized aluminium. The secret to the table’s energy-efficient performance lies in the innovative use of phase-change materials (PCM), integrated between the surface of plain wood and the folded sheet of anodized aluminum. Thanks to this great technology, the table can help smooth out temperature fluctuations and, in the case of office buildings, save up to 60% of energy required for heating and about 30% for cooling.

The top is made from solid oak which has great thermal qualities, while folded aluminium sheets placed on the underside have high conductivity and great structural properties. This fantastic design was presented at the 2015 Milan Design Week and we can’t wait to see what the designers come up with next.

Anh Tuan