jailcd2020075: Experimental Thermal Performance of Wallboard with Hybrid Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials for Building Application

Abstract

Combining phase-change materials into building envelopes can improve indoor environmental comfort and reduce energy consumption. To adapt to seasonal changes, a novel type of hybrid PCM-containing wallboard was fabricated. The hybrid PCM wallboard has a wide phase-change temperature range and can work under different climates for indoor thermal comfort and energy saving. Reduce-scale test cells, two hybrid PCM wallboard integrated test boxes (including Mode 1 PCM wallboard and Mode 2 PCM wallboard) and another equipped with gypsum wallboards, were compared to study the thermal performance of the PCM contained wallboard in both passive and active systems. The results indicate that the hybrid PCM system can narrow indoor air temperature fluctuations at any time of the entire year. Mode 2 PCM wallboards were found to be more suitable for regulating the indoor thermal environment, as they exhibited more heat release to the indoors during the daytime and less heat loss at nighttime during winter. A comparative test was performed with the active system to evaluate the energy saving potential of the two hybrid PCM wallboards. The results show that energy consumption in the hybrid PCM wallboard box is nearly 30% less than that of gypsum wallboard.