Numerical study on thermal comfort and energy-saving potential of a prefabricated temporary house integrated with composite phase change materials

Abstract

The prefabricated temporary house (PTH) has been widely used in various scenarios because of its convenience and environmental protection. However, PTHs are usually lightweight buildings with weak thermal inertia, resulting in poor indoor thermal comfort. Numerical research was conducted on the potential of phase change materials (PCMs) as a passive alternative to enhance the performance of the PTH throughout the year in this study. The influences of some critical factors such as thickness, phase change temperature, ventilation, building orientation, and climatic region on the thermal characteristics of PTHs were evaluated. The thermal comfort hours and energy consumption were employed as indicators to quantify the influence of PCMs on the dynamic thermal performance of PTHs. The numerical results indicated that the thickness had different effects on the PTH in different climate regions. When the total thickness of the wall was constant, I-level thermal comfort hours of the PCM rooms were higher than those of the reference room. For the Beijing area, when the wall was composed of a 100 mm insulation board, the indoor I-level thermal comfort hours were 803 h, while when the wall was composed of 90 mm insulation boards and 10 mm PCM panels, the indoor I-level thermal comfort hours increased to 1511 h. Moreover, it was worth noting that the optimal PCMs for different building orientations were basically the same, but the optimal PCMs for the PTH with and without air conditioning were different. Ventilation significantly increased thermal comfort hours and reduced energy consumption for the PTH in Guangzhou, while a larger ventilation rate would reduce the thermal comfort hours of the PTH in Kunming. In general, the numerical results supported and highlighted the potential of integrating PCM in the PTH to enhance living comfort and reduce energy consumption.