Thermal behavior of a PCM-plywood combination as insulation for buildings in a hot summer condition

Abstract

Integrating innovative materials and technologies has become imperative in the quest to design energy-efficient and sustainable buildings. Among these, one of the promising solutions to improve indoor spaces' comfort conditions and energy efficiency is the Phase Change Materials (PCMs). The methodology experimentally explores the impact of combining plywood and paraffin wax as a PCM to improve indoor environments' thermal dynamics under Iraqi conditions. Two wooden boxes are used, with one having its wall stuffed with a PCM. A temperature analysis was made for the internal temperature of each box, walls' surfaces, and PCM temperature for seven days. The impact of the box arrangement on the temperature distribution was also considered. The result showed the temperature inside the modified box is lower than the conventional one by about 3.0 during the peak time from 08:00 hr. to 16:00 hr. The night cooling is slower for the box with the PCM than the conventional one. Having the modified and the non-modified box in arrangement improves the insulation of both of them. Moreover, the findings showed that there is no need for all the rooms to be modified for a building with many rooms. The correct position of the room based on the location of the building in the study area will be enough.