Optimization of the placement and area allocation for the installation of the phase change material on swimming pool roofs under diverse climatic conditions

Abstract

The increasing cost of energy, the limited source of fossil fuels, and their excessive emissions that cause significant industrial damage are the most important reasons for replacing them with renewable energy resources, aside from trying to use existing energy sources efficiently. Phase change materials are considered a promising approach for saving thermal energy with specific thermophysical properties. Operational temperature, cost, and thermal energy saving capacity are the most important factors when applying them to different energy saving applications. In this article, two kinds of phase change materials with different characteristics were modeled on the roof of a swimming pool. The optimum area for Phase Change Material installation on the outer part of the roof was found in the first part of the research, and then a weighted index was introduced to indicate the energy, emission, and cost of each modeled state. Afterward, four types of roofs containing two layers of phase change materials are modeled in a colder and hotter city in addition to Tehran, Iran. The best results were obtained from modeling two-layer Phase Change Material for the studied locations, leading to energy savings of 22 %, 21.4 %, and 23 % in the heating application and, 13 %, 3.9 %, and, 12.8 % in the cooling sector, for Tehran, Tabriz, and Yazd, respectively that are three cities with different weather conditions. On the other hand, when the weighted index with a priority for energy consumption was calculated, the different results were obtained.