Thermal Control Of Building Using Latent Heat Storage South Wall

Abstract

The aim of the present work is to study the thermal performance of a composite wall used for heating management of building. The solar energy absorbed by the wall is stored in a phase change material (PCM). The advantage of using this heating strategy is that PCMs are able to melt and absorb a high amount of diurnal solar radiations and release it to the room during the night to provide passive nocturnal heating. A one-dimensional mathematical model was developed in order to analyze and optimize the proposed latent heat storage wall. Numerical investigations were conducted in order to examine the effects of the PCM position and the PCM material properties on the thermal behavior of the proposed wall. It was found that, when the PCM layer is closer to the inner face of the wall, thermal comfort conditions are considerably improved compared to a concrete wall without PCM. The good PCM choice is satisfied when the material melts completely before the sunset and re-solidifies completely before the sunrise. Phase change materials that have a better thermal conductivity lead to a significant reduction of the building energy consumption.