Low-cost phase change material as an energy storage medium in building envelopes: Experimental and numerical analyses
Abstract
A promising approach to increasing the energy efficiency of buildings is the implementation of a phase change material (PCM) in the building envelope. Numerous studies over the last two decades have reported the energy saving potential of PCMs in building envelopes, but their wide application has been inhibited, in part, by their high cost. This article describes a novel PCM made of naturally occurring fatty acids/glycerides trapped into high density polyethylene (HDPE) pellets and its performance in a building envelope application. The PCM-HDPE pellets were mixed with cellulose insulation and then added to an exterior wall of a test building in a hot and humid climate, and tested over a period of several months, To demonstrate the efficacy of the PCM-enhanced cellulose insulation in reducing the building envelope heat gains and losses, side-by-side comparison was performed with another wall section filled with cellulose-only insulation. Further, numerical modeling of the test wall was performed to determine the actual impact of the PCM-HDPE pellets on wall-generated heating and cooling loads and the associated electricity consumption. The model was first validated using experimental data and then used for annual simulations using typical meteorological year (TMY3) weather data. Furthermore, this article presents the experimentalmore »
- Authors:
-
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Renewable Energy Group, Inc., Tulsa, OK (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Building Technologies Research and Integration Center (BTRIC)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- Work for Others (WFO); USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1185596
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1556394
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725; EE0003924
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Energy Conversion and Management
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 88; Journal ID: ISSN 0196-8904
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION; phase change materials; low-cost PCM; PCM modeling; finite element analysis; COMSOL
Citation Formats
Biswas, Kaushik, and Abhari, Ramin. Low-cost phase change material as an energy storage medium in building envelopes: Experimental and numerical analyses. United States: N. p., 2014.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2014.09.003.
Biswas, Kaushik, & Abhari, Ramin. Low-cost phase change material as an energy storage medium in building envelopes: Experimental and numerical analyses. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2014.09.003
Biswas, Kaushik, and Abhari, Ramin. Fri .
"Low-cost phase change material as an energy storage medium in building envelopes: Experimental and numerical analyses". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2014.09.003. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1185596.
@article{osti_1185596,
title = {Low-cost phase change material as an energy storage medium in building envelopes: Experimental and numerical analyses},
author = {Biswas, Kaushik and Abhari, Ramin},
abstractNote = {A promising approach to increasing the energy efficiency of buildings is the implementation of a phase change material (PCM) in the building envelope. Numerous studies over the last two decades have reported the energy saving potential of PCMs in building envelopes, but their wide application has been inhibited, in part, by their high cost. This article describes a novel PCM made of naturally occurring fatty acids/glycerides trapped into high density polyethylene (HDPE) pellets and its performance in a building envelope application. The PCM-HDPE pellets were mixed with cellulose insulation and then added to an exterior wall of a test building in a hot and humid climate, and tested over a period of several months, To demonstrate the efficacy of the PCM-enhanced cellulose insulation in reducing the building envelope heat gains and losses, side-by-side comparison was performed with another wall section filled with cellulose-only insulation. Further, numerical modeling of the test wall was performed to determine the actual impact of the PCM-HDPE pellets on wall-generated heating and cooling loads and the associated electricity consumption. The model was first validated using experimental data and then used for annual simulations using typical meteorological year (TMY3) weather data. Furthermore, this article presents the experimental data and numerical analyses showing the energy-saving potential of the new PCM.},
doi = {10.1016/j.enconman.2014.09.003},
journal = {Energy Conversion and Management},
number = ,
volume = 88,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Oct 03 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Fri Oct 03 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}
Web of Science
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