Abstract
Energy efficiency in buildings is today a prime objective for energy policy at national and international levels. Because the residential and commercial energy consumption has steadily increased reaching figures between 20% and 40%. The use of thermal insulation of the building envelope is one of the most currently requested solutions to reduce this energy consumption. Phase Change Materials (PCM) have received increased attention due to their ability to store large amounts of thermal energy within narrow temperature ranges. This property makes them ideal for storage of passive heat in the building envelopes. An experimental study was conducted to analyze the influence of PCM in the construction of exterior walls. Two test cells are constructed in the Faculty of Science Ain Chock, Casablanca. One is equipped with a 0.56 cm layer of PCM on its roof while the second is a reference cell without PCM. The results presented for the period from 8th to 10th July 2014 show that the integration of PCM layer reduces the amplitude of instantaneous heat flux through the horizontal wall. The indoor and the internal vertical wall temperatures, in the case of the cell with PCM, are relatively decreased compared to those of the reference one. For example, the maximum deviation between the indoor temperatures of the cubicles is not more than 1.5℃ while the one on the west faces reaches 3℃ by mid day. Also the inclusion of a layer of PCM shifts the time of peak load and discharge.
Highlights
The energy consumption is expected to increase rapidly in the coming years due to the significant development of the building sector as well as the significant increase in household equipment rate appliances
We conducted an experimental study of the thermal performance of two cavities like living quarters built, in-situ within the Faculty of Science Ain Chock, Casablanca
One of them is equipped with a phase change material (PCM) on the roof, during summer of 2014
Summary
The energy consumption is expected to increase rapidly in the coming years due to the significant development of the building sector as well as the significant increase in household equipment rate appliances. The Moroccan policy framework is focused on reducing energy consumption in the building sector and so thermal insulation in buildings is imposed as an important factor to achieve thermal comfort for the occupants and to reduce unwanted heat loss or gain. The aim is to reduce the energy consumptions. Note that housing and tertiary (hospitals, hotels...) are responsible for, approximately, 25% of the total energy consumption in Morocco [1]. One such method is to incorporate PCM to the lightweight buildings. Phase Change Materials are smart materials that are based on a simple physical principle: they liquefy absorbing energy from a certain temperature characteristic for each type of materials (generally determined by their chemical formulation), and restore the energy when the temperature of their environment decreases
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
