Life cycle assessment and circularity evaluation of a PV panel integrated with phase change material

Abstract

Many studies focus on the application of phase change materials (PCMs) to a photovoltaic (PV) panel. It has been proved that these materials provide a good thermal management for the PV panel, increasing the electrical conversion efficiency and recovering useful heat. This paper investigates these innovative systems from an environmental sustainability perspective. A PV-PCM prototype, built and tested over a reference year, has been taken as case study. The recovered heat by the PCM is intended as peak shaving for the domestic hot water (DHW) energy demand of a typical residential building. The analysis involves both the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), basing on the ISO standard 14040, and the circularity of the proposed system, proposing an alternative calculation procedure to the new Italian standard UNI 1608856. Results show that the proposed system allows the reduction of impact on climate change of around 11%, reaching a potential circularity performance of around 45%.