Enhancing indoor thermal comfort and energy efficiency: A comparative study of RC-PCM Trombe wall performance

Abstract

In response to the issue of excessive heating during summer in traditional Trombe walls, this study proposes a novel system called RC-PCM Trombe walls, which utilizes radiation cooling and phase change materials (PCMs) to traditional Trombe walls. The thermal performances of RC-PCM Trombe wall, conventional Trombe wall, and PCM Trombe wall were compared and studied under summer conditions. The experimental results demonstrate that the addition of heat pipes and radiant cooling devices to the RC-PCM Trombe wall led to a reduction of peak temperatures on the inner surface of the south wall by 3 °C and 1.2 °C, respectively. Furthermore, the time taken to reach the peak temperature was delayed by 43 min and 38 min, respectively. The standard deviations of indoor air temperature were reduced by 0.04 °C and 0.29 °C, while the indoor heat gain was reduced by 26.5 % and 55.2 %, respectively. These findings indicate that the RC-PCM Trombe wall effectively mitigates indoor overheating and enhances the indoor thermal environment during the summer.