Let’s compare your building to a drink cooler. Modern buildings now have lightweight construction with insulation in the walls, a nice tight shell, and a lid (roof). On a hot summer day instead of using refrigeration to keep the contents of our “cooler” cold, we instead rely on ICE – PCM.

As the ice melts at 32ºF it absorbs tremendous amounts of energy and keeps the cooler at 32ºF until fully melted. If a shock winter cold event were to take place, plummeting temperatures below that 32ºF (0ºC) level the water would then begin to re-freeze and actually “heat” the cooler. The result is a cooler that stays well within the 32ºF range without the need for any heating or cooling equipment.

Now, add doors and windows to your cooler and people constantly creating heat inside the cooler. Would you even consider removing the ice from the cooler in favor of spending money on refrigeration? Absolutely not! You’d be sure to keep that ice in the cooler and use refrigeration to supplement and manage the ice, so it is constantly freezing and melting.