Experimental steady-state and transient thermal performance of materials for thermal energy storage in building applications: From powder SS-PCMs to SS-PCM-based acrylic plaster

Thermal performance of SS-PCM composites, simulating building envelope conditions, is difficult to asset with traditional laboratory equipment. However, in this work, the evaluation of three SS-PCM based on eutectic fatty acid mixtures of capric-myristic (CA/MA), lauric-myristic (LA/MA) and palmitic-stearic (PA/ SA) was accomplished by a testing setup that allows to test samples in steady-state and dynamic con-ditions. Moreover, a SS-PCM-based acrylic plaster was evaluated as a fiber cement siding finish. The obtained values were used to calculate the thermal transmittance (U-value), heat storage capacity, and thermal inertia parameters under a simulated diurnal cycle. Results showed that the use of phase change materials in powder form increase thermal lag between 148% and 180% and present a decrement factor <0.2. Furthermore, building envelopes as fiber cement siding with a SS-PCM-based acrylic plaster coating decreased 20.8% the indoor temperature, increase 67.26% the thermal lag and decrease 9% of the decrement factor. (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, the thermal performance of three SS-PCM based on eutectic fatty acid mixtures was evaluated, and an SS-PCM-based acrylic plaster was tested as a fiber cement siding finish. The results showed that using phase change materials in powder form significantly increased thermal lag, and the SS-PCM-based acrylic plaster coating effectively reduced indoor temperature.