Energy consumption of a day-occupied building utilizing phase changing material incorporating gypsum boards

In the architecture, engineering and construction industry, there is an urgent need for a shift to low-energy, sustainable buildings to address the environmental concerns, increase occupant comfort demands and lower the operational cost of buildings. In this direction, one of the most effective technologies is using PCM’s (phase change materials) as part of building envelopes. PCMs can increase building performance by increasing the thermal storing capacity of buildings by decreasing the heat transfer between buildings and outdoor environment during both hot and cold seasons. In this work, the results of a simulation-based study of a test building with gypsum wall boards with micro-capsulated PCMs are presented. An energy model of a day-occupied office building in Izmir is developed, and a second model instance is generated that makes use of PCMs with different melting points. A comparative assessment is made to analyze the impact of PCMs on energy performance and carbon footprint. The main target is the identification of most suitable phase change material with referring melting temperature and latent heat capacity according to the climate conditions. Results point out the positive effects of phase change materials on energy performance and carbon footprint of a simple day-occupied office building