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PCM Applications in Building Energy

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2016) | Viewed by 37985

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Cheng-Kung University, No. 1 University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
Interests: functional thermal fluids; solid–liquid phase change heat transfer; forced/natural convection; heat transfer enhancement; thermal management
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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Interests: energy-efficient buildings; green building design; building energy analysis; application of renewable energies in buildings; HVAC; heat transfer; phase change materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

During the processes of melting or solidification, a Phase Change Material (PCM) can effectively store or release a significant amount of latent heat. The temperature of a PCM can also be stably maintained during the latent heat transfer process. Therefore, in energy storage/management and thermal environmental control applications, PCM is a promising material choice.

This Special Issue features recent PCM-related research papers in the field of building energy. We would like to cover a wide spectrum of topics, from innovative PCMs to PCM application in building energy system, and presents the following topics:

Topics covered include (but are not limited to):

  • TES (Thermal Energy Storage) system in building energy

  • PCM in building energy system

  • PCM and thermal comfort

  • PCM in transparent solar facades

  • PCM in semi-transparent (translucent) solar facades

  • PCM in fireproof construction

  • PCM in natural ventilation system

  • Novel applications of PCMs in the area of building energy

  • Novel PCMs for energy storage and conversion in buildings

  • Novel PCMs in building and their impact on energy demands

  • Assessment methodologies on the effectiveness of incorporating PCM

  • PCM combination with building materials

  • PCM combination with building thermal system

  • PCM - modeling and theoretical aspects

  • PCM -advanced characterization techniques

  • PCM - review

Prof. Dr. Chi-Ming Lai
Prof. Dr. Ching-Jenq Ho
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • energy

  • building energy

  • PCM (Phase Change Material)

  • heat transfer

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

7492 KiB  
Article
An Experimental Study on the Thermal Performance of Phase-Change Material and Wood-Plastic Composites for Building Roofs
by Min Hee Chung and Jin Chul Park
Energies 2017, 10(2), 195; https://doi.org/10.3390/en10020195 - 10 Feb 2017
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 5934
Abstract
We assessed the usefulness of phase-change material (PCM)-based thermal plates fabricated from wood-plastic composites (WPCs) in mitigating the urban heat island effect. The thermal performance of plates containing PCMs with two different melting temperatures and with two different albedo levels was evaluated. The [...] Read more.
We assessed the usefulness of phase-change material (PCM)-based thermal plates fabricated from wood-plastic composites (WPCs) in mitigating the urban heat island effect. The thermal performance of plates containing PCMs with two different melting temperatures and with two different albedo levels was evaluated. The results showed that the PCM with a melting temperature of 44 °C maintained lower surface and inner temperatures than the PCM with a melting temperature of 25 °C. Moreover, a higher surface albedo resulted in a lower surface temperature. However, the thermal performance of PCMs with different melting temperatures but the same surface albedo did not differ. Using PCM-based materials in roof finishing materials can reduce surface temperatures and improve thermal comfort. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue PCM Applications in Building Energy)
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4637 KiB  
Article
Heat Transfer and Energy Performance of a PVA Wall Tile Containing Macro-Encapsulated PCM
by Pin-Feng Liu, Yi-Pin Lin, Chun-Ta Tzeng and Chi-Ming Lai
Energies 2016, 9(8), 652; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9080652 - 18 Aug 2016
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5294
Abstract
This study integrated building material engineering, building construction practices, and heat transfer mechanisms to develop a polyvinyl acetate (PVA) based wall tile, containing macro-encapsulated phase change material (macro-encapsulated PCM, macroPCM) and PVA. The heat transfer characteristics and energy performances of the proposed prototype [...] Read more.
This study integrated building material engineering, building construction practices, and heat transfer mechanisms to develop a polyvinyl acetate (PVA) based wall tile, containing macro-encapsulated phase change material (macro-encapsulated PCM, macroPCM) and PVA. The heat transfer characteristics and energy performances of the proposed prototype were investigated experimentally. The results indicated that the PVA-based macroPCM wall tile is suitable for use in exterior walls to enhance the thermal performance. The tile shows a lower heat indoor heat flux than other tested similar building materials and increases the time lag of peak load, effectively shifting the summer peak demand. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue PCM Applications in Building Energy)
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6532 KiB  
Article
Effectiveness of Using Phase Change Materials on Reducing Summer Overheating Issues in UK Residential Buildings with Identification of Influential Factors
by Marine Auzeby, Shen Wei, Chris Underwood, Jess Tindall, Chao Chen, Haoshu Ling and Richard Buswell
Energies 2016, 9(8), 605; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9080605 - 1 Aug 2016
Cited by 36 | Viewed by 6234
Abstract
The UK is currently suffering great overheating issues in summer, especially in residential buildings where no air-conditioning has been installed. This overheating will seriously affect people’s comfort and even health, especially for elderly people. Phase change materials (PCMs) have been considered as a [...] Read more.
The UK is currently suffering great overheating issues in summer, especially in residential buildings where no air-conditioning has been installed. This overheating will seriously affect people’s comfort and even health, especially for elderly people. Phase change materials (PCMs) have been considered as a useful passive method, which absorb excessive heat when the room is hot and release the stored heat when the room is cool. This research has adopted a simulation method in DesignBuilder to evaluate the effectiveness of using PCMs to reduce the overheating issues in UK residential applications and has analyzed potential factors that will influence the effectiveness of overheating. The factors include environment-related (location of the building, global warming/climate change) and construction-related (location of the PCM, insulation, heavyweight/lightweight construction). This research provides useful evidence about using PCMs in UK residential applications and the results are helpful for architects and engineers to decide when and where to use PCMs in buildings to maintain a low carbon lifestyle. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue PCM Applications in Building Energy)
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6611 KiB  
Article
Empirical Validation of a Thermal Model of a Complex Roof Including Phase Change Materials
by Stéphane Guichard, Frédéric Miranville, Dimitri Bigot, Bruno Malet-Damour, Teddy Libelle and Harry Boyer
Energies 2016, 9(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9010009 - 24 Dec 2015
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5671
Abstract
This paper deals with the empirical validation of a building thermal model of a complex roof including a phase change material (PCM). A mathematical model dedicated to PCMs based on the heat apparent capacity method was implemented in a multi-zone building simulation code, [...] Read more.
This paper deals with the empirical validation of a building thermal model of a complex roof including a phase change material (PCM). A mathematical model dedicated to PCMs based on the heat apparent capacity method was implemented in a multi-zone building simulation code, the aim being to increase the understanding of the thermal behavior of the whole building with PCM technologies. In order to empirically validate the model, the methodology is based both on numerical and experimental studies. A parametric sensitivity analysis was performed and a set of parameters of the thermal model has been identified for optimization. The use of the generic optimization program called GenOpt® coupled to the building simulation code enabled to determine the set of adequate parameters. We first present the empirical validation methodology and main results of previous work. We then give an overview of GenOpt® and its coupling with the building simulation code. Finally, once the optimization results are obtained, comparisons of the thermal predictions with measurements are found to be acceptable and are presented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue PCM Applications in Building Energy)
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6248 KiB  
Article
Sanitation and Analysis of Operation Data in Energy Systems
by Gerhard Zucker, Usman Habib, Max Blöchle, Florian Judex and Thomas Leber
Energies 2015, 8(11), 12776-12794; https://doi.org/10.3390/en81112337 - 11 Nov 2015
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 6318
Abstract
We present a workflow for data sanitation and analysis of operation data with the goal of increasing energy efficiency and reliability in the operation of building-related energy systems. The workflow makes use of machine learning algorithms and innovative visualizations. The environment, in which [...] Read more.
We present a workflow for data sanitation and analysis of operation data with the goal of increasing energy efficiency and reliability in the operation of building-related energy systems. The workflow makes use of machine learning algorithms and innovative visualizations. The environment, in which monitoring data for energy systems are created, requires low configuration effort for data analysis. Therefore the focus lies on methods that operate automatically and require little or no configuration. As a result a generic workflow is created that is applicable to various energy-related time series data; it starts with data accessibility, followed by automated detection of duty cycles where applicable. The detection of outliers in the data and the sanitation of gaps ensure that the data quality is sufficient for an analysis by domain experts, in our case the analysis of system energy efficiency. To prove the feasibility of the approach, the sanitation and analysis workflow is implemented and applied to the recorded data of a solar driven adsorption chiller. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue PCM Applications in Building Energy)
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1228 KiB  
Article
Experimental Evaluation of Simple Thermal Storage Control Strategies in Low-Energy Solar Houses to Reduce Electricity Consumption during Grid On-Peak Periods
by Kyoung-Ho Lee, Moon-Chang Joo and Nam-Choon Baek
Energies 2015, 8(9), 9344-9364; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8099344 - 31 Aug 2015
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6634
Abstract
There is growing interest in zero-energy and low-energy buildings, which have a net energy consumption (on an annual basis) of almost zero. Because they can generate both electricity and thermal energy through the use of solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal collectors, and [...] Read more.
There is growing interest in zero-energy and low-energy buildings, which have a net energy consumption (on an annual basis) of almost zero. Because they can generate both electricity and thermal energy through the use of solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal collectors, and with the help of reduced building thermal demand, low-energy buildings can not only make a significant contribution to energy conservation on an annual basis, but also reduce energy consumption and peak demand. This study focused on electricity consumption during the on-peak period in a low-energy residential solar building and considers the use of a building’s thermal mass and thermal storage to reduce electricity consumption in summer and winter by modulation of temperature setpoints for heat pump and indoor thermostats in summer and additional use of a solar heating loop in winter. Experiments were performed at a low-energy solar demonstration house that has solar collectors, hot water storage, a ground-coupled heat pump, and a thermal storage tank. It was assumed that the on-peak periods were from 2 pm to 5 pm on hot summer days and from 5 pm to 8 pm on cold winter days. To evaluate the potential for utilizing the building’s thermal storage capacity in space cooling and heating, the use of simple control strategies on three test days in summer and two test days in the early spring were compared in terms of net electricity consumption and peak demand, which also considered the electricity generation from solar PV modules on the roof of the house. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue PCM Applications in Building Energy)
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