Investigating the performance of the PCM-integrated building envelope on a seasonal basis

Background: The PCM-integrated building envelope has shown significant potential in energy management and heating/cooling loads reduction. However, PCM layer performance highly depends on environmental conditions, configuration and its thermo-physical properties. The right choice of these characteristic features is great of importance since it may cause inverse effects. Methods: So, in this comprehensive study, the performance of PCM wallboard under realistic sessional weather and solar radiation by considering different values of melting points (22, 24 and 26 degrees C) is investigated. To capture the solid/liquid interface and liquid fraction, the precise enthalpy-porous model, as well as the actual heat transfer chain consisting of radiation, convection and conduction from the environment to the room ambient, are implemented. Significant findings: The results showed that the PCM layer is not always advantageous and more than 5% negative impact on energy loss is observed. So, the performance is highly dependent on other key factors including the environmental conditions and its volumetric amount. Also, the existence of optimum values for PCM layer thickness regarding the costs and wall density is observed for different types of PCM. The effect of the melting point on energy-saving is another significant parameter that has shown a considerable impact on appropriate PCM selection for specific regional conditions. (c) 2021 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study investigated the performance of PCM wallboards under realistic weather conditions and solar radiation, revealing that the performance is highly dependent on key factors such as environmental conditions and volumetric amount. Additionally, optimal thickness values for PCM layers regarding costs and wall density were observed for different types of PCM, while the melting point also plays a significant role in energy-saving effects.