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Development of a thermally enhanced frame wall with phase‐change materials for on‐peak air conditioning demand reduction and energy savings in residential buildings
Author(s) -
Zhang Meng,
Medina Mario A.,
King Jennifer B.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
international journal of energy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.808
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1099-114X
pISSN - 0363-907X
DOI - 10.1002/er.1082
Subject(s) - phase change material , materials science , air conditioning , phase change , heat flux , environmental science , energy performance , solar gain , structural engineering , composite material , engineering , efficient energy use , mechanics , thermodynamics , electrical engineering , mechanical engineering , heat transfer , thermal , engineering physics , physics
This paper presents the development of a thermally enhanced frame wall that reduces peak air conditioning demand in residential buildings. A frame wall that integrates a highly crystalline paraffin phase‐change material (PCM), via macro‐encapsulation, was developed, constructed, and evaluated. This prototype wall is referred to as phase‐change frame wall (PCFW). Results from field testing show that the PCFW reduced wall peak heat fluxes by as much as 38%. For a period of several days that included walls facing different directions, the average wall peak heat flux reduction was approximately 15% when PCFWs with a 10% concentration of PCM (based on indoor sheathing weight) were used and approximately 9% when a 20% PCM concentration was used. The average space‐cooling load was reduced by approximately 8.6% when 10% PCM was applied and 10.8% when 20% PCM was used. The level of insulation in the PCFWs that were tested was 1.94m 2 K/W (R‐11). Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.