Phase Change Materials are or have the ability to store heat and releases this stored heat or cool temperature at a later time. This is known as latent heat storage systems. Consider a candle containing a paraffin wax. When it heats up, it will become a liquid when that heat is suspended it cools and turns back into a solid and holds this heat as stored energy.
Latent heat storage is becoming the new State-of-the Art Technology for alterative energy sources. These materials or chemistry can and are developing into a whole new conceptual consideration for reducing energy because they can improve thermal properties for new or existing building materials.
PCMs are encapsulate or embedded into the material to store and release this energy at a later time.
They have been successful in protective clothing for climbers or skiers where the person's body heat transfers this to the PCMs in the fibers of the outer garment that they are wearing. And with just an adjustment to the chemistry it can reverse the process so it helps or repel heat so if a person is in a hot environment it will produce the opposite effect and cool the body or keep that person in a constant comfortable temperature.
This latent storage system is applied to the interior surface of a specified material. The above picture shows this as an applied gypsum board or trowel finish to the interior finish of the concrete surface. Creating additional transfered energy efficiency.
When building with wood or where wood is used as structural components and rock sheet or plasterboard is specified. It would be to the advantage of not using this material but applying a PCM board for better heating or cooling performance.
LightConcrete LLC will update this web site current projects with this technology on a continuous basis.
