In-situ study of thermal comfort enhancement in a renovated building equipped with phase change material wallboard

In order to really assess the potential of Phase Change Material (PCM) wallboards, a renovated office building has been monitored during approximatively one year. A room was equipped with PCM wallboards in the lateral walls and in the ceiling. Another room, identical to the first one, was not equipped but also monitored. This study is the first one dealing with the results obtained in real use conditions. Some relevant results of this monitoring are presented in order to understand the physical phenomena involved in the walls storage process. The results show that the PCM wallboards enhance the thermal comfort of occupants due to air temperature and radiative effects of the walls. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.