Parametric analysis of phase change materials within cold climate buildings: Effects of implementation location and properties

Abstract

Integrating phase change materials (PCMs) into buildings is a proven method to reduce heating and cooling loads in alignment with international targets to reduce energy and greenhouse gas emissions. However, although promising, PCM uptake has been limited, particularly in cold climates due to a lack of knowledge about their performance and lack of optimized PCM solutions. The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive analysis of PCMs, integration strategies, and properties that lead to the largest space conditioning reductions in four cold climate cities within Canada. An experimentally validated EnergyPlus model was developed and used to simulate a thin layer of PCMs on surfaces adjacent to a conditioned space to predict their effects and trends that occur due to their placement in various locations within a room, geographic locations, and melting temperatures. It was found that the most effective location for PCM installation was the room walls for heating load reductions and floor for cooling load reductions, due to the incident solar energy profiles in each conditioning season. In the warmer two cities studied, the greatest benefits per unit PCM occurred with PCM in the floor, while the cooler two cities had the greatest benefits per unit PCM with it installed in the walls. The optimal choice of PCM to decrease heating load was 1–2 °C above the heating setpoint, while for decreasing cooling loads it was 1–2 °C below the cooling setpoint, regardless of the choice of conditioning setpoints or geographic location.