Potential impact of phase change materials on energy reduction in army buildings

Buildings account for approximately 40% of energy consumption in the United States with Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC). The Army is the largest building owner within the Department of Defense and has the ability to impact the energy consumption within buildings reported in the United States. To date, Army has been making great strides in building new construction and renovation projects to meet high performance sustainable building goals set by the federal government and have further adopted ASHRAE 90.1 and 189.1 standards. With these additional goals of achieving Net Zero Energy, Energy Independence, and Energy Security to ensure continued support of the Army’s Mission and maintaining National Security, there is a need to continue to drive further energy reduction within these buildings. Phase Change Materials have been identified as a building material that has potential to impact more energy reduction within our buildings by providing a lightweight thermal energy storage solution that stabilizes temperature swings within buildings. This material, when designed with consideration of local climate and building thermal loads, can support reduced HVAC system sizing needed to meet interior thermal comfort requirements thereby driving greater energy efficiency of buildings. © 2018 The Authors. Published by Diamond Congress Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Creative Construction Conference 2018.