A less energy-intensive HVAC solution for renovation programmes

VINCI Energies is launching PRIMATICE, a radiant ceiling panel system that uses ventilation air for heating and climate control.

©Dupont-Renoux

Enhanced comfort, lower energy consumption, and significantly reduced maintenance costs: VINCI Energies is innovating in the field of heating, ventilation and climate control (HVAC) installations, with a new “virtuous” technology designed for use in existing tertiary spaces.

Developed under the PRIMATICE (VINCI Energies Building Solutions) brand, this patented technical renovation solution is based on a system of radiant ceiling panels using ventilation air as the sole energy vector for heating and climate control.

Technology easy to install as part of a renovation programme

“Damage caused by HVAC systems is usually due to water. We wanted to design a ceiling using air rather than water, along the lines of the GREENFLOOR® technology we introduced for new builds in 2016,” explains Guillaume Rabut, Business Project Manager at I.C.Entreprises (a VINCI Energies company specialising in the design, manufacture and installation of thermal, industrial, sanitary and climate engineering solutions), who is leading the project – see box titled “How does it work?”

Custom solution

Energy transition in the tertiary building sector is largely a question of modifying the existing building stock, and this inspired VINCI Energies to develop a technology that would be easy to install as part of a renovation programme. The ceilings can be customised and installed in any spatial configuration, and their slim profile (6 cm in total) maximises ceiling heights.

Above all, the PRIMATICE inertial system ensures energy savings, evenly distributed temperatures, air quality superior to legal standards, and a smaller carbon footprint, because the installation requires no pipework and has a operational life in excess of 50 years.

How does it work?

The PRIMATICE radiant ceiling solution contains phase change material (PCM) in the form of a saline solution able to change its state from liquid to solid and vice versa. By day, excess thermal energy is absorbed when the outside temperature exceeds the melting point of around 20 °C. At night, when the temperature lowers, the solution resolidifies, releasing the accumulated energy.

03/13/2025