Parametrical analysis of PCM thermal storage system for heating and cooling of buildings.

Abstract

In order to reduce energy consumption in buildings, a solution using PCMs as a way of storing thermal energy is presented. During summer nights cold is stored and delivered during the day to reduce cooling load, whereas in winter, heat from solar air collector is stored for heating during morning and evening hours. Proposed is a stand-alone unit suitable for offices, which consists of plates filled with paraffin RT22HC. In the paper we examine the functioning of the suggested thermal energy storage (TES) system on an annual basis, explore feasibility of using it for both, cooling and heating and carry out parametrical analysis (different melting temperatures, width of plates, width of channels,...) in order to find the best set of parameters for given conditions. Calculations reveal that for Ljubljana energy savings for small office could be around 190 kWh/year.