Here we characterise the thermal properties of engineered bamboo panels produced in Canada, China, and Colombia. Specimens are processed from either Moso or Guadua bamboo into multi-layered panels for use as cladding, flooring or walling. We utilise the transient plane source method to measure their thermal properties and confirm a linear relationship between density and thermal conductivity. Furthermore, we predict the thermal conductivity of a three-phase composite material, as these engineered bamboo products can be described, using micromechanical analysis. This provides important insights on density-thermal conductivity relations in bamboo, and for the first time, enables us to determine the fundamental thermal properties of the bamboo cell wall. Moreover, the density-conductivity relations in bamboo and engineered bamboo products are compared to wood and other engineered wood products. We find that bamboo composites present specific characteristics, for example lower conductivities – particularly at high density – than equivalent timber products. These characteristics are potentially of great interest for low-energy building design. This manuscript fills a gap in existing knowledge on the thermal transport properties of engineered bamboo products, which is critical for both material development and building design.DUS and MCDB thank Mr Robert Cornell (University of Cambridge) for training on thermal conductivity measurement. Special thanks go to Prof Greg Smith and Dr Kate Semple at the University of British Columbia (Department of Wood Science), working on processing of structural bamboo products. This research has been funded by the EPSRC (Grant EP/K023403/1), a Leverhulme Trust Programme Grant, and the Newton Trust.This is the final version of the article. It was first available from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9610-
