PCM, the heart of i-TES technology
PCM technology
i-TES's thermal battery of the future allows for improving energy efficiency by harnessing a unique property of phase change materials. Scroll down the page to delve deeper into the topic.
Phase change materials
PCM stands for Phase Change Materials.
These are materials that, among other properties, have one that makes them unique: they are able to absorb and release large amounts of heat when they pass from one physical state to another, for example from the liquid state to the solid state, and vice versa.
It is by exploiting this property that i-TES has developed the thermal battery of the future.
Like water...
The behaviour of PCMs reminds us of a phenomenon we are all familiar with and which occurs with water.
It is well known that when water reaches a certain temperature(0°C), it changes state from a liquid to a solid (ice), or from a solid to a liquid. Ice can be supplied with heat (latent heat) without increasing its temperature: the energy supplied only serves to melt the solid, and only when the ice has completely melted does the temperature of the water begin to rise.
The effect is reversible and occurs at a given temperature even in the case of a phase change between liquid and solid.
... at the temperature desired
What makes PCMs interesting are two aspects.
The first is that they are high energy density materials.
The second is that these materials pass from one state to another at very different thermal levels: for example, some PCMs pass from solid to liquid at a higher temperature, while others change phase at a lower temperature, and so on.
PCMs promote thermoregulation: by selecting and combining different types of PCM materials, a system can be created that stores and releases latent heat at the desired temperatures.
The energy efficiency of i-TES with PCM
The properties of PCMs are very useful for thermal storage, which is the core business of i-TES.
i-TES has designed and builds innovative thermal batteries every day that can, for example, store energy from solar panels during the day and return it at night.
The PCM thermal batteries made by i-TES can also be combined with an existing thermal system to provide additional energy when demand exceeds the norm.
Heat recovery
Thermal storage
Thermal regulation
Uses of PCM
i-TES uses materials in its thermal batteries that are now used in many other sectors and applications.
They are used, for example, in technical clothing, where adequate thermal regulation is required; or in the cold logistics sector, where thermal storage and regulation ensure more effective temperature maintenance even at temperatures other than ice; and in the civil sector, solutions including PCMs to improve the thermal characteristics of building materials are also becoming increasingly popular.
PCM and sustainability
In a long process of analysis and research, i-TES has chosen to prioritize 100% natural PCMs at the heart of its technology and to create, with these materials, the thermal battery of the future: a battery that does not generate negative environmental impacts and that uses renewable materials.