Thermal performance and energy efficiency of PCM integrated buildings in eight cities located in snow, fully humid with warm summer climate region

Abstract

Phase change materials have been applied into building framework to reduce energy and fossil fuel consumption as well as make building sector more sustainable.. In this study, the energy consumption assessment of lightweight twostorey PCM-enhanced residential house placed at different eight locations (Helsinki, Kiev, Saint-Petersburg, Moscow, Stockholm, Toronto, Montreal and Kiev) restricted by Dfb climate region will be evaluated. The number of iterations were performed by DesignBuilder software combined with Energy Plus engine by applying eleven melting temperature ranges of PCM. The output shows that the optimal PCMs have reduced the temperature swings up to 2.4 ℃. The performance of PCM is not constant for the monthly assessment basis, hence every month different PCM have performed efficiently. The optimal PCM variance is between the thermal comfort zone (20-26℃) and depends on the geographical parameters. For the indicator cities, the energy consumption varies from 2,81% to 5,72%. The volumetric assessment may be shows that the efficient performance of PCM increases with expansion of surface area combined with reduction of thickness. Overall, the enhancement of PCM into building framework in residential building located in Dfb climate region is feasible option.