Evaluation of Thermal Effect of PCM Wallboards by Coupling Simplified Phase Change Model with Design Tool

Alain Guiavarch, Denis Bruneau, Bruno Peuportier

Centre Energétique et Procédés, MINES Paris Tech, Paris, France.
Département TREFLE, Institut de Mécanique et d’Ingénierie de Bordeaux, Talence, France.

DOI: 10.4236/jbcpr.2014.21002                

Abstract

A simplified PCM wallboard model is coupled to an existing design-oriented model of multi-zone buildings. Using a reference model and a basic simulation configuration, the accuracy of the resulting PCM wallboard-building thermal design tool is evaluated. A new performance indicator, called PCM utilization factor, is then proposed in order to estimate the thermal efficiency of using PCM wallboards in buildings. Using this PCM Utilization factor and a degrees-hours indicator, the ability of the PCM wallboard-building thermal design tool to evaluate the effect of PCM wallboards on heating loads and summer thermal comfort in the early design phase of a project is examined in two real case studies: a family house project and an existing office building. The user-friendliness of this design tool, and the short calculation times it leads to when performing a year-long simulation using a standard office computer, make it a well-adapted tool for sensibility studies or multi-criterion optimization for buildings that contain PCM wallboards.

Keywords

Phase Change Material; Wallboard; Thermal Model; Dynamic Simulation; Summer Comfort; Design Tools

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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