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Sustainability
Volume 10
Issue 8
10.3390/su10082657
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Article

Numerical Thermal Characterization and Performance Metrics of Building Envelopes Containing Phase Change Materials for Energy-Efficient Buildings

by
Mingli Li
1,
Guoqing Gui
2,
Zhibin Lin
1,*,
Long Jiang
3,
Hong Pan
2 and
Xingyu Wang
1
1
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58018-6050, USA
2
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Jinggangshan University, Ji’an 343009, Jiangxi, China
3
Department of Mechanical Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58018-6050, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2018, 10(8), 2657; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10082657
Received: 27 June 2018 / Revised: 13 July 2018 / Accepted: 24 July 2018 / Published: 28 July 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Various Energy Efficiency Measures on the Thermal and Energy Performance of Buildings)
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Abstract

Residential and commercial buildings consume nearly 40 percent of total USA energy use and account for one-third of total greenhouse gas emissions. The challenges are how to effectively promote energy efficiency in buildings to respond to the high financial burden of energy consumption, while reducing pollution. Phase change materials (PCMs) have been used as passive energy storage for building systems. Along this vein, this study aims to numerically elucidate the design parameters of building envelopes strengthened by PCM layers, and unveil their impacts on building energy efficiency. Critical design variables, such as the thickness of the PCM layer, the latent heat of PCMs, or melting temperature of PCMs were selected for a parametric study, while performance metrics were used to assess building efficiency. Results revealed that PCM-enabled building walls exhibited different levels of improvement, in terms of reduction of peak temperature and temperature swings. Among the variables, the selection of the proper melting point for a PCM was identified as the most crucial parameter for determining building energy efficiency, while the heat of fusion was also observed as a critical property of PCM for building potential. Findings also demonstrated that the placement of the PCM near the interior wall surface could achieve higher efficiency, as compared to other cases. Results also showed that the thermal conductivity of PCM has a minimum contribution to energy storage capacity. View Full-Text
Keywords: building envelopes; energy efficiency; phase change material; thermodynamics; heat transfer building envelopes; energy efficiency; phase change material; thermodynamics; heat transfer
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MDPI and ACS Style

Li, M.; Gui, G.; Lin, Z.; Jiang, L.; Pan, H.; Wang, X. Numerical Thermal Characterization and Performance Metrics of Building Envelopes Containing Phase Change Materials for Energy-Efficient Buildings. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2657. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10082657

AMA Style

Li M, Gui G, Lin Z, Jiang L, Pan H, Wang X. Numerical Thermal Characterization and Performance Metrics of Building Envelopes Containing Phase Change Materials for Energy-Efficient Buildings. Sustainability. 2018; 10(8):2657. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10082657

Chicago/Turabian Style

Li, Mingli, Guoqing Gui, Zhibin Lin, Long Jiang, Hong Pan, and Xingyu Wang. 2018. "Numerical Thermal Characterization and Performance Metrics of Building Envelopes Containing Phase Change Materials for Energy-Efficient Buildings" Sustainability 10, no. 8: 2657. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10082657

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