The energy saving performance of the thermal diode composite wall in different climate regions

Abstract

The effective management of energy consumption during building operations continues to be of utmost importance. The role of a building's envelope in regulating energy consumption is critical. However, traditional building insulation systems often struggle to maintain optimal indoor temperatures in the face of fluctuating external temperatures. Solar energy, for instance, can easily penetrate a room through windows during the cooling season, leading to increased energy consumption. Similarly, heat dissipates easily during the heating season. To address these challenges, thermal diode composite walls with unidirectional heat transfer offer a groundbreaking approach to simplifying the design of thermal management systems. The thermal diode composite wall effectively controls heat conduction, convection, and radiation through the implementation of different functional layers. By regulating the heat flux through the building envelope, this technology significantly reduces energy consumption during building operations while maintaining a stable indoor temperature. To evaluate the performance of an adaptable thermal diode composite wall, we designed, implemented, and conducted tests on a thermal diode composite wall building. The results of the study demonstrate substantial energy savings, ranging from 3.5% to 69.3% for annual operation in various regions, with better performance observed in colder regions. In the forward heat conduction mode, the temperature difference between the inside and outside wall surfaces reached a maximum of 20.99 K, while in the reverse mode, it reached −35.67 K. These findings highlight the remarkable potential of thermal diode composite walls in significantly improving the energy efficiency and comfort of buildings. Consequently, the adoption of thermal diode composite walls presents numerous opportunities for the development of low-carbon buildings.