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Thermal Energy Storage and Conversion for Building Applications: Materials and...
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Thermal Energy Storage and Conversion for Building Applications: Materials and Systems Advancements

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "J: Thermal Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 March 2025) | Viewed by 2086

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Emanuela Mastronardo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy
Interests: materials development and characterization; energy storage; thermochemical heat storage; perovskite oxides; magnesium hydroxide; salt hydrates; hydrogen production
Dr. Andrea Frazzica

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Advanced Technologies for Energy, Italian National Council Research (CNR), 98126 Messina, Italy
Interests: development and characterization of materials and components for thermal energy storage and conversion; detailed models of heat and mass transfer in porous media; development of renewable heating and cooling solutions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The buildings sector has a very large carbon footprint when both direct and indirect emissions are accounted for. In 2021, it was responsible, directly and indirectly, for approximately one-third of global energy- and process-related CO2 emissions, approximately 8% of which resulted from the use of fossil fuels in buildings. A further 19% were due to the generation of electricity and heat used in buildings, and an additional 6% were related to the manufacture of cement, steel and aluminium used for buildings construction. Therefore, to align with the Net Zero Scenario, carbon emissions from building operations need to more than halved by 2030, requiring significant efforts to reduce energy demand through clean and efficient technologies in all end uses. Thermal energy storage (TES) systems integration into buildings is essential to boost their efficiency and reduce building energy consumption. In this regard, more compact, modular, and sustainable TES is essential to guarantee the ease of technology integration.

In this Special Issue, dedicated to the advancement and perspectives of materials and systems for thermal energy storage and conversion technologies for building applications, original research papers, short communications, and reviews are welcome. Experimental, theoretical, and computational research approaches, as well as a combination of these approaches, are welcome, and contributions can be both in fundamental and applied science, including industrial case studies. Topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following: 

  • Thermal energy storage material and techniques (phase change materials, thermochemical materials, metal hydrate thermal energy storage materials, sensible heat storage, latent heat storage, thermochemical heat storage, or a combination of these), and thermal energy storage material development and characterization;
  • Thermal energy grid storage for building applications, either independent or integrated into the renewable system, for energy saving or energy efficiency;
  • Thermal energy conversion systems. 

This Special Issue will provide the scientific community with a thorough overview of the current research on innovative thermal energy storage materials and systems for the building sector.

Dr. Emanuela Mastronardo
Dr. Andrea Frazzica
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

  • thermal energy storage systems
  • phase change materials (PCM)
  • thermochemical materials (TCM)
  • building energy efficiency
  • heat and cold storage
  • energy conversion

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2701 KiB  
Article
Stability of Adsorbent Sheets Under Accelerated-Aging Tests for Open-Cycle Adsorption Processes
by Emanuela Mastronardo, Stefano De Antonellis, Angelo Freni, Candida Milone and Luigi Calabrese
Energies 2025, 18(5), 1023; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18051023 - 20 Feb 2025
Viewed by 362
Abstract
This study aims to assess the stability of silica gel/polymer composites designed for open-cycle air dehumidification, humidification, and heat storage by employing a comprehensive set of characterization methods. To evaluate their resistance to various environmental factors, the materials were subjected to a series [...] Read more.
This study aims to assess the stability of silica gel/polymer composites designed for open-cycle air dehumidification, humidification, and heat storage by employing a comprehensive set of characterization methods. To evaluate their resistance to various environmental factors, the materials were subjected to a series of aging treatments: (i) repeated adsorption/desorption cycles under representative operational conditions; (ii) post-drying at 30 °C, 40 °C, and 60 °C; (iii) immersion in water for 30 days; (iv) exposure to a salt–fog environment for 30 days; and (v) accelerated aging by alternation between wet and dry cycles. Prolonged exposure to liquid water significantly reduced the material’s stability, resulting in an 83% reduction in tensile strength after 30 days of immersion. However, discontinuous exposure to liquid water at low drying temperatures did not critically affect the material’s mechanical properties during wet/dry cycles. Furthermore, post-drying (performed at 22 °C and 50% RH) allows the recovery of mechanical performance, with a tensile strength reached comparable to those of the unaged composites. Similarly, adsorption/desorption cycles in water vapor did not trigger degradation in the material, with its water vapor adsorption capacity remaining comparable to the unaged material after 100 cycles. The results confirm the reliability of these composite materials as to their potential uses in open-cycle dehumidification, humidification, and heat-storage applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Energy Storage and Conversion for Building Applications: Materials and Systems Advancements)
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21 pages, 4116 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Impact of Phase-Change Materials on Enhancing the Thermal Efficiency of Buildings in Tropical Climates
by Tássio Luiz dos Santos, Arthur Santos Silva and Diogo Duarte dos Reis
Energies 2024, 17(20), 5212; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17205212 - 20 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1006
Abstract
Civil construction and buildings account for a significant 36% of worldwide energy consumption, contributing to 37% of global CO2 emissions. In Brazil, buildings consume a substantial 51.2% of the nation’s electricity production. Remarkably, approximately one-third of this energy is allocated specifically for [...] Read more.
Civil construction and buildings account for a significant 36% of worldwide energy consumption, contributing to 37% of global CO2 emissions. In Brazil, buildings consume a substantial 51.2% of the nation’s electricity production. Remarkably, approximately one-third of this energy is allocated specifically for maintaining thermal comfort within these structures. The thermal performance of a building has a significant impact on its energy efficiency; in this way, technologies developed to contribute to the energy efficiency of envelopes can directly contribute to the reduction in the building’s overall energy consumption. PCMs are technologies capable of absorbing heat without increasing temperature and can contribute to the better energy performance of envelopes. PCMs are used as a thermal performance solution in cold climate regions, and studies show that they are likely to work in buildings in tropical climates. The objective of this work is to analyze the performance of PCMs in tropical regions of the southern hemisphere, specifically in Brazil, and their behavior according to the constructive system used. Computer simulation contributes to an analysis closer to the reality of the implementation of this technology in these regions. This work is carried out with simulations in the software EnergyPlusTM version 24.1. The results demonstrate that PCMs can effectively contribute to a reduction in energy consumption for the thermal comfort of buildings in tropical climates, demonstrating the possible feasibility of the development of this technology for tropical climates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Energy Storage and Conversion for Building Applications: Materials and Systems Advancements)
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