Under normal conditions on the marketplace of a town during summer, a large ice block would melt within a few days.

Want to make a bet that...

... an ice block with a volume of one cubic meter, weighing almost a ton, and packed in an optimally insulated house can withstand several weeks of sun, wind, and weather?

Find out how much ice remained after
4 weeks – 'Ice block' tipster game in Riedlingen
8 weeks – 'Ice block' tipster game in Biberach
4 weeks – 'Ice block' tipster game in Ehingen
4 weeks – 'Ice block' tipster game in Ochsenhausen
4 weeks – 'Ice block' tipster game in Ulm
Sigmaringen 27.08. bis 24.09.2010

September 22 until October 22, 2007 in Riedlingen

Ice block bet on the Baden Wuerttemberg 'Energy day'

On the Baden Wuerttemberg 'Energy day 2007' in Riedlingen, an ice block with a volume of almost one cubic meter was placed inside an insulated wooden house (passive house standard), which was then sealed until Oct. 22, 2007.

The insulation of walls, floor, and roof consisted of 200 mm thick LINITHERM PAL panels, and was left to sun, wind, and weather for four weeks.

LINITHERM PAL polyurethane panels have excellent insulating properties. The lower a material's thermal conductivity is, the better is its insulation performance. The very low conductivity (WLS 024) of LINITHERM PAL means: The heat stays outside in the summer, and the valuable heating warmth stays inside the house in winter. What's more, the slim panels have a minimum structural height and are quickly installed.

At the start of the bet, the ice block weighed 907 kilogrammes. At the end of the bet, the scales showed a weight of 857 kilogrammes. This equals a weight loss of only 5.5 percent.

The result: 94,5 % of the ice remained after 4 weeks

April 10 until June 6, 2008 in Biberach

Ice block bet on the 3rd Baden Wuerttemberg 'Energy day'

When the “cold lump” (as a local newspaper called it) was removed from the insulated wooden house on the evening of the 'Carpenter's Guild Day', it weighed 732 kilogrammes. Eight weeks earlier, the ice block tipped the scales at 900 kilogrammes before it was sealed in the house. 81.3 percent of the ice remained.

Dietmar Hagel, president of the Carpenter's Guild, is pleased with the excellent result. Daytime temperatures partially above 30 °C quickly melted the ice cream in one's hand, but the ice block in its perfectly insulated house was hardly affected by the first 'tropical days' of the year 2008.

“Which shows that an ideally insulated house has an extremely low energy demand”, says Dietmar Hagel.


2.500 Biberach inhabitants had placed their bets, and nine of them came very close to the final result.

At the start of the bet, the ice block weighed 907 kilogrammes. At the end of the bet, the scales showed a weight of 857 kilogrammes. This equals a weight loss of only 5.5 percent.

The result: 81,2 % of the ice remained after 8 weeks.

July 14 until August 12, 2008 in Ehingen

Ice block bet at the Raiffeisenbank in Ehingen

After opening the insulated house on August 12, 2008 – which had stood in front of the Raiffeisen bank in Ehingen for four weeks – almost 90 percent of the ice block were still present. Protected in its LINITHERM-insulated wooden house, the block had survived the summer heat without cooling. When placed in its house on July 14, 2008, the block weighed 868 kilogrammes. In total, 90 liters of melt water were drained off. Now, the block still weighed 769 kilogrammes. Not a bad performance, considering that the oversized ice cube frequently had to withstand outside temperatures of more than 30 °C during the four weeks. The 'Ice block' tipster game clearly demonstrates that good insulation can positively counteract the continuously increasing energy costs.

The result: 88,6 % of the ice remained after 4 weeks.

September 10 until October 12, 2008 in Ochsenhausen

Ice block bet in Ochsenhausen

Energy costs are increasing daily. Therefore, it pays to invest in thermal insulation. In order to promote the topic “efficient use of energy” in private households and municipal buildings, the LINITHERM 'ice block tipster game' addresses inhabitants as well as public authorities, and encourages participation.
But everyone who had guessed that the ice block had suffered the same fate as alpine glaciers and had largely melted, was disappointed when the house was opened on October 12, 2008: In 4 weeks, the block's initial weight of 884 kg had only been reduced by eight kilogrammes.

The thermograph shows it clearly: The temperatures inside the insulated house are wintery cold, as can be seen from the blue-green colour. The outer wall of the wooden house has heated up to 25 °C (cross at top centre). Between insulation and roofing material, the temperature is 40 °C and more (white-red colour).

The result: 99 % of the ice remained after 4 weeks

August 21 until September 18, 2009 in Ulm

Ice block bet on the 3rd Baden Wuerttemberg 'Energy day'

Will a block of ice measuring 1 cubic metre melt in August? This was the question placed to passers-by on the Münsterplatz in Ulm.

On August 21 2009, the ice block was sealed in a small wooden enclosure insulated acc. to the passive house standard. The only protection for the ice block from external heat and cold was provided by 200 mm thick LINITHERM insulation on roof, ceiling, walls, and floor.

More than 3000 people who passed by the yellow house during the four weeks, placed their bets in the tipster game. In line with the topic, the winner received a voucher for a free energy consultation for his own home.

In the afternoon of the 3rd Baden Wuerttemberg 'Energy day' on September 18, 2009, about one hundred spectators watched the melt water being drained off. Ivo Gönner, Ulm's mayor, announced the seemingly impossible result: Only 11.6 percent of the ice had melted! “That really proves the value of good insulation” commented the mayor.

The result: 88,4 % of the ice remained after 4 weeks

August 28 until September 30. 2010 in Sigmaringen

Ice block bet on the 4rd Baden Wuerttemberg 'Energy day'

On August 28, 2010 an ice block with a volume of one cubic meter was placed inside an insulated wooden house (passive house standard) in Sigmaringen. The ice block tipster game was initiated by the Craft Trades Association in Sigmaringen. After opening on 24 September the ice was barely melted.

The result: 93,3 % of the ice remained after 4 weeks