Simulation analysis of thermal insulation performance of PCM for mitigating urban heat island effect

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the Thermal Insulation Performance of the PCM Cool Roof System, which is being developed for mitigating the Urban Heat Island Effect. We compared the performance of general insulation material versus that of PCM, both applied on a standard roof model. General insulation material contained 50mm Expanded Poly Styrene, 135mm Expanded Poly Styrene, and 135mm cellulose. We found that PCM had less cooling energy consumption compared to general insulation, whereas general insulation had less heating energy consumption. The annual total energy consumption was found to be lower when using PCM. Therefore, we conclude that the PCM Cool Roof System has insulating capacity comparable to that of general insulation. And its thermal insulation performance is similar or better compared with general insulation, although thermal conductivity of PCM in solid status is generally 0.24 W/mK which almost eight times higher than general insulation.