PCM

In this paper a new ventilated window with a PCM heat exchanger is proposed. In winter, the heat exchanger works as a solar collector to store heat for pre-heating of the ventilated air. In summer, it works in cooperate with night ventilation to pre-cool the ventilated air. In this work, the prototype of the heat exchanger is built and tested experimentally. The PCM heat capacity measured by differential scanning calorimetry DSC is used to help understand the phase change processes. The PCM temperature at different heights in both melting and freezing processes is measured.

The effect of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) to optimize indoor thermal comfort conditions and reduce cooling energy requirement when included in envelope components and materials is demonstrated by an extensive scientific literature (Zhou et al., 2012. Orò et al., 2012). In this view, this research consists of the development and prototyping of an innovative passive cooling polyurethane based membrane with PCMs inclusion for roofing applications (Pisello et al., 2015).

In the framework of the IEA Task 32 (Solar Heating and Cooling Programme), we developed a numeric model to simulate heat transfer in phase change materials (PCM), and experimental data. The analyzed system is bulk PCM plunged in a water tank storage of a solar combisystem (heating and domestic hot water production). The numerical model, based on the enthalpy approach, takes into account hysteresis and subcooling characteristic and also the conduction and the convection in the PCM. This model has been implemented in an existing TRNSYS type of water tank storage.

This work deals with the evaluation of the performances of phase change materials (PCMs) coupledwith a ventilated ceiling system in order to reduce summer cooling loads and improve the internalcomfort in buildings, thus enhancing the positive effect of night ventilation.Object of the study is the numerical simulation of the thermal behaviour of a typical open space officelocated in three Italian cities during the summer. Indoor climate is only controlled by means of passiveventilation; a usual ventilation system configuration (i.e.

Night-time cooling of buildings is a recognized way of reducing the use of air conditioning, and hence energy consumption. The paper describes the construction and testing of a latent heat storage system, which uses a novel combination of night cooling, heat pipes and phase change materials (PCMs) and has the distinct advantage that it is suitable for fitting to existing buildings. The design of the heal pipe/PCM heat storage unit is briefly discussed.