ENERGY MANAGEMENT IN BUILDINGS USING BIO PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL

Phase change materials have several applications and effects as energy storage elements and insulation materials on buildings’ energy efficiency, air-conditioning, and heating systems (HVAC). In this study, the evaluation of energy conservation enhancement of the passive system by integrating phase change material with building envelopes is performed. Two identical modules were built (each 109 cm × 89 cm × 38 cm); the first module represents the present conventional building for comparison purposes, while the second module contains the bio phase change material (BioPCM). It was found that during that summer season the maximum temperature swing was 6°C for the module with BioPCM and 15°C for the module without BioPCM. The average reduction for the cooling load was 14.73% for 2 hours and 50 minutes of peak load shifting. During the winter season, the obtained results showed that the maximum temperature swing was 4°C for the module with BioPCM and 6.5°C for the module without BioPCM. The average reduction of the heating load was 33.49%, without peak load shifting.