The study aims at analyzing the performance of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) in residential housing for different climates. This paper presents the results of an experiment performed in the Concordia University Solar Simulator and Environmental Chamber research facility (SSEC, Montreal, Canada). PCM boards were embedded on the back wall of a test hut placed in the climatic chamber. Several experiments were performed to explore the potential for verification of the proposed analysis and to produce enough data to perform model calibrations. Results show a strong increase in the apparent thermal inertia of the room allowing for a reduction in daily temperature fluctuations in the test hut. Simulations were carried out by means of a calibrated EnergyPlus model to broaden the analysis in both a cold Canadian climate and in a Mediterranean temperate climate. Other configurations for the setup environment were studied to simulate the issues of very hot summers in Mediterranean climate. The different configurations ended up with mixed results for the two locations analyzed: the maximization of the solar gains and its storage in a high density multiple layer PCM wall is the better configuration for the cold climate analyzed, while its performance is non optimal for hot climates where the “emulation” of high thermal mass walls by PCM in lightweight structures requires a different positioning of the PCM panels
This paper presents a simulation study of an active energy storage device intended to enhance building operation. This device -which is designed for installation in the ceiling plenum of an office, a mechanical room or in other convenient locations-consists of an arrangement of several panels of a phase-change material. It may be charged or discharged as required with an air stream passing between the panels, thus operating as a PCM-air heat exchanger (PCM-HX).The first part of the paper focuses on the design of the PCM-HX. Several design configurations are evaluated; investigated parameters include the PCM-HX dimensions, the number of air channels and airflow rates. The paper also includes an experimental validation of the PCM model. Performance criteria that were considered in the parametric study include the amount of stored heat, the time needed to charge/discharge the PCM storage and the overall energy density of the device.The second part of the paper evaluates different control strategies aimed at reducing peak demand and the size of HVAC system. The impact on peak load of a linear ramp for the temperature setpoint is investigated: it was found that a two hour linear ramp in temperature setpoint -together with a PCM-HX configuration with six air channels-can reduce the peak heating load by 41% as compared to a benchmark case without the PCM-HX.
Buildings play a significant role in climate change mitigation. In North America, energy used to construct and operate buildings accounts for some 40% of total energy use, largely originating from fossil fuels [1]. The strategic reduction of these energy demands requires knowledge of potential upgrades prior to a building's construction. Furthermore, renewable energy generation integrated into buildings faç ades and district systems can improve the resiliency of community infrastructure. However, loads that are non-coincidental with on-site generation can cause load balancing issues. This imbalance is due to solar resources peaking at noon, whereas building loads typically peak in the morning and late afternoon or evenings. Ideally, the combination of on-site generation and localized storage could remedy such load balancing issues while reducing the need for fossil fuels. In response to these issues, this paper contributes a methodology that co-optimizes building designs and district technologies as an integrated community energy system. A distributed evolutionary algorithm is proposed that can navigate over 10 154 potential community permutations. This is the first time in literature that a methodology demonstrates the co-optimization buildings and district energy systems to reduce energy use in buildings and balance loads at this scale. The proposed solution is reproducible and scalable for future
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