A Study of Hot Climate Low-Cost Low-Energy Eco-Friendly Building Envelope with Embedded Phase Change Material

Abstract

The generation and use of energy are significant contributors to CO2 emissions. Globally, approximately 30% to 40% of all energy consumption can be directly or indirectly linked to buildings. Nearly half of energy usage in buildings is linked to maintaining the thermal comfort of the inhabitants. Therefore, finding solutions that are not only technically but also economically feasible is of utmost importance. Though much research has been conducted to address this issue, most solutions are still costly for developing countries to implement practically. This study endeavors to find a less expensive yet straightforward methodology to achieve thermal comfort while conserving energy. This study takes a broader view of multiple habitat-related CO2 emission issues in developing regions and describes a hybrid solution to address them. New technologies and innovative concepts are being globally examined to benefit from the considerable potential of PCMs and their role in thermal energy storage (TES) applications for buildings. The current study numerically investigates the thermal response of a hybrid building envelope consisting of PCM and local organic waste materials for low-cost low-energy buildings. The local organic waste materials used are those whose disposal is usually done by burning, resulting in an immense amount of greenhouse gases. In the first phase, different waste materials are characterized to determine their thermophysical properties. In the second phase, a low-cost, commonly available PCM calcium chloride hexahydrate, CaCl2·6H2O, is integrated with a brick and corn husk wall to enhance the thermal storage in the building envelope to minimize energy consumption. Temperature distribution plots are primarily used for analysis. The results show a marked improvement in thermal comfort by maintaining a maximum indoor temperature of 27 °C when construction is performed with a 6% corn husk composite material embedded with the PCM, while under similar conditions, the standard brick construction maintained a 31 °C indoor temperature. It is concluded that the integration of the PCM layer with the corn husk wall provides an adequate solution for low-cost and low-energy buildings.

Analysis of Heat Recovery System Performance Using a Serpentine-Type Heat Exchanger on Water Heater with Fins Number Variation

“…At the setting of the same evaporator outflow of air, the use of fin plates has an impact that makes the compressor work value different. 14,15 The use of plates makes the compressor work value smaller. This is evidenced by the use of 5 fin plates which have the smallest compressor work value compared to the use of other plates (Figure 3).…”

Systematic literature review of software tools for modeling heat transfer in phase change materials for building applications

“…8 of studies explored PCM in HVAC systems -ventilation systems [11], [12], [26]- [28], [34], [35], [42], heat exchangers [20], [25], [30]- [33], [36], [38] and other elements [20]; other 31 publications focused on walls [10], [13], [15], [17], [19], [21]- [24], [37], [39], [40], [43], [44], roofs [14], [18], [29], [37], floors [24], windows ( [41]). In 20 studies models were validated using experimental data [10]- [12], [14], [16], [17], [20], [22], [25]- [27], [29], [31], [32], [34]- [38], [40], 1 used analytical validation [45], 4 based validation on findings in other studies in scient...…”

Holistic renovation of a multi-family building in Greece based on dynamic simulation analysis

“…The renovation of the buildings can play a critical role in the reduction of the buildings' energy consumption aiming to i) improve the building envelope, ii) reduce energy waste, iii) improve the energy efficiency of HVAC systems and iv) improve indoor thermal comfort conditions (Benavente-Peces and Ibadah, 2020). Moreover, proper eco-friendly materials should be selected aiming to minimize the life cycle impact of the building on the environment (Rehman et al, 2021).…”