Passive room conditioning using phase change materials—Demonstration of a long-term real size experiment

The thermal properties of lightweight buildings can be efficiently improved by using phase change materials (PCMs). The heat storage capacity of the building can be extended exactly at the desired temperature level, which leads to an enormous increase in residential comfort. This is shown in the present paper using the example of a prefabricated wooden house. The house was divided into two identical rooms. One of them was equipped with almost one ton of phase change material based on salt hydrates with a melting temperature of approx. 21°C. The material was encapsulated in 1-l Polyethylene containers and installed in two back-ventilated layers inside of the walls. The house was monitored for a period of 87 days in terms of temperatures, solar radiation and air velocity inside the PCM wall system. A considerable temperature buffering could be observed in the PCM room compared to the reference room. An overall reduction of the temperature fluctuations of 57% and a reduction of the day/night fluctuations of 62% compared to the reference room could be obtained. In addition, a prediction regarding the energy demand of such buildings is discussed on the basis of a simulation program. Thus, the annual cooling capacity can be reduced by 36.5% compared to the regular timber construction technique by introducing PCM. Furthermore, the good correlation of the simulation results with the experimental ones allows using the simulation as a tool to design a house with additional thermal storages