Analysis of wallboard containing a phase change material

Conference · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/IECEC.1990.716494· OSTI ID:6885249

Tomlinson, J J ^[1]; Heberle, D P ^[2]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
2. California State Polytechnic Univ., Pomona, CA (USA)

Phase change materials (PCMs) used on the interior of buildings hold the promise for improved thermal performance by reducing the energy requirements for space conditioning and by improving thermal comfort by reducing temperature swings inside the building. Efforts are underway to develop a gypsum wallboard containing a hydrocarbon PCM. With a phase change temperature in the room temperature range, the PCM wallboard adds substantially to the thermal mass of the building while serving the same architectural function as conventional wallboard. To determine the thermal and economic performance of this PCM wallboard, the Transient Systems Simulation Program (TRNSYS) was modified to accommodate walls that are covered with PCM plasterboard, nd to apportion the direct beam solar radiation to interior surfaces of a building. The modified code was used to simulate the performance of conventional and direct-gain passive solar residential-sized buildings with and without PCM wallboard. Space heating energy savings were determined as a function of PCM wallboard characteristics. Thermal comfort improvements in buildings containing the PCM were qualified in terms of energy savings. The report concludes with a present worth economic analysis of these energy savings and arrives at system costs and economic payback based on current costs of PCMs under study for the wallboard application. 5 refs., 4 figs., 4 tabs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/CE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6885249
• Report Number(s): CONF-900801-13; ON: DE90012163
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
142000 -- Solar Energy-- Heat Storage-- (1980-)
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320107* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Building Systems-- (1987-)
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKANES
BUILDING MATERIALS
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CALCIUM SULFATES
COMPUTER CODES
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY STORAGE
ENERGY SYSTEMS
EQUIPMENT
GYPSUM
HEAT STORAGE
HEATING SYSTEMS
HYDROCARBONS
IMPREGNATION
LATENT HEAT STORAGE
MATERIALS
MINERALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PARAFFIN
PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING SYSTEMS
PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS
SIMULATION
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SOLAR HEATING SYSTEMS
STORAGE
SULFATE MINERALS
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
T CODES
THERMAL ANALYSIS
WALLS
WAXES