Heat Transfer Engineering

ISSN: 0145-7632 (Print) 1521-0537 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uhte20

Energy-Efficient Building Envelopes with Phase-

Change Materials: New Understanding and
Related Research

Rui Cheng , Xin Wang & Yinping Zhang

To cite this article: Rui Cheng , Xin Wang & Yinping Zhang (2014) Energy-Efficient Building
Envelopes with Phase-Change Materials: New Understanding and Related Research, Heat
Transfer Engineering, 35:11-12, 970-984, DOI: 10.1080/01457632.2013.863674

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01457632.2013.863674

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Nov 2013.
Published online: 13 Nov 2013.

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 Heat Transfer Engineering, 35(1112):970984, 2014
Copyright 
C Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0145-7632 print / 1521-0537 online
DOI: 10.1080/01457632.2013.863674

Energy-Efficient Building Envelopes

with Phase-Change Materials: New
Understanding and Related Research
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RUI CHENG, XIN WANG, and YINPING ZHANG

Department of Building Science and Key Laboratory of Eco Planning & Green Building, Ministry of Education,
Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

Thermal performance of building envelopes is important in improving building energy efficiency. This paper includes three
parts: (1) It introduces our new understanding of developing optimized or ideal building envelopes based upon inverse prob-
lems and their solutions, which is helpful for energy efficient building envelope structure design and material development.
(2) It reviews our recent research on developing energy-efficient building envelopes with phase-change materials, includ-
ing the optimized thermal mass characteristics of building wall, novel phase-change material development, measurement
method for thermal physical properties of phase-change material, and application of some prototype energy efficient building
envelopes. (3) It puts forward some limitations of the available works and related research topics for future study.

INTRODUCTION (2) nonlinear specific heat characteristics that benefit building

With speeding modernization and urbanization, building en-
ergy consumption has steadily and rapidly increased in China.
Chinas total energy consumption in 1978 was about 571 mil-
lion tons of standard coal, while in 2009 it reached 3.07 billion
tons [1]. According to the statistical data, the share of building
energy consumption in total energy consumption in China rose
from 10% in 1978 to 30% in 2006, and keeps increasing [2].
Heating and air conditioning alone account for 65% of the total
building energy consumption in 2003 and are still increasing
[3], which not only consumes valuable fossil fuel resources,
but also emits a huge amount of CO2 and other pollutants into
the atmosphere. Therefore, research related to building energy
efficiency is becoming more and more important in China.
Improving the thermal energy storage capacity of a building
envelope is an important way to build energy efficiency. Ther-
mal energy storage in building envelopes can be realized either
by using conventional sensible heat storage or by latent heat
storage. For many cases, the latter demonstrates some advan-
tages over the former, due to (1) higher thermal mass density and
energy efficiency or building thermal performance.
There are many important problems regarding thermal energy
storage building envelopes, such as: (1) What is the ideal ther-
mal energy storage building envelope that can maintain indoor
thermal comfort with minimal additional energy consumption
excluding nature energy resources such as solar energy? (2) How
can one prepare proper phase-change materials (PCMs) used in
building envelopes and how should one improve thermal physi-
cal characteristics of PCMs in order to make them more reliable
and economic? (3) How can one develop some easily used, ac-
curate, and rapid methods to test thermal physical properties
of PCMs for thermal energy storage in building envelopes? (4)
How does one apply building envelopes with PCMs effectively?
In order to answer these important questions, our relating
recent research studies are introduced (Figure 1).
NEW UNDERSTANDING FOR DESIGNING
AND OPTIMIZING THE THERMAL PERFORMANCE
OF BUILDING ENVELOPES

Thermal Functions of the Building Envelope and Its Analysis

Address correspondence to Prof. Yinping Zhang, Department of Build-
ing Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. E-mail: zhangyp@
tsinghua.edu.cn Asan et al. [4] pointed out that at the cross section of the
Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online outer wall of a building, the temperature profiles are functions of
at www.tandfonline.com/uhte. inside temperature, outside temperature, and thermal physical
970
 R. CHENG ET AL. 971

Concept of ideal thermal energy storage building envelope

Question 1 Ideal thermal physical properties of building envelopes (k, cp, etc.)

PCMs have characteristics of ideal cp

Thermal physical
Development of new Applications of PCMs
properties of PCMs and
PCMs in building envelopes
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their testing methods

Question 2 Question 3 Question 4

Figure 1 Schematic of our researches on energy efficient building envelope based upon new understanding.

properties of the wall. In principle, the time lag and decrement
factor depend on the thermal physical properties (k, cp , etc.)
and the thickness of the wall material. By designing special
walls according to different requirements of time lag and
decrement factor under various climatic conditions, one can
make full use of natural resources to maintain indoor thermal
comfort.
The one-dimensional, transient heat conduction equation for
a nontransparent wall can be expressed as follows:
H 2t
=k 2 (1)
x
t t t t
where H = t0L c p,s dt + tLH c p,m dt + t H c p,l dt; t0L c p,s dt is
t
the enthalpy change during solid state, tLH c p,m dt is the en-
t
thalpy change during phase change, and t H c p,l dt is the enthalpy
change during liquid state, for constant specific heat materials,
H = cp t.
Ideal Thermal Physical Properties
The concept of an ideal energy conservation building enve-
lope was put forward in reference [5], which was that if the heat
storage and insulation properties of the building envelope had
a suitable role in the delay and decay for outdoor temperature
fluctuations, the indoor air temperature could stay in a comfort-
able range without heating and air conditioning loads. This kind
of building envelope was called a passive ideal energy conser-
vation building envelope. The corresponding thermal physical
properties were called the ideal thermal physical properties of
building envelopes.
In order to evaluate thermal comfort degree without heating
and air conditioning, the new parameters I win (integrated dis-
comfort degree for indoor air temperature in winter) and I sum
heat transfer engineering
(integrated discomfort degree for indoor air temperature in sum-
mer) were defined [5]:

Isum = (Tin TH )d, Tin > TH (2)
year

Iwin = (TL Tin )d, Tin < TL (3)
year
When I sum and I win are zero, a passive ideal energy conservation
building is achieved.
Determining the Ideal Thermal Physical Properties
The indoor air temperature of given buildings in given re-
gions is a function of thermal physical properties (specific heat
cp , thermal conductivity k, etc.) of building envelopes, venti-
lation strategy (air exchange rate, ACH) and additional heat
source power Q. For passive buildings, ideal thermal physi-
cal properties can be determined when the other conditions
are known by minimizing I sum or I win . For active buildings,
ideal thermal physical properties, ideal mechanical ventilation
strategy, or ideal heating mode can be identified when the
other two are given by minimizing the total energy consump-
tion. However, these are all nonlinear problems as indicated in
reference [6].
The traditional method of space heating or cooling system
design is a trial-and-error process. It can only compare the inte-
grated discomfort degree or total energy consumption of given
cases by experimental or numerical analysis. It cannot determine
the ideal thermal physical properties of the building envelopes
material. In order to overcome the shortcomings or limitations,
Zeng et al. [6] proposed some new concepts and a new approach
based on the inverse problem to solve this nonlinear optimiza-
tion problem, which is shown in Figure 2.
vol. 35 nos. 1112 2014
 972 R. CHENG ET AL.
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Figure 2 Difference of conventional and new approaches in determining optimal building envelopes thermal physical properties: (a) conventional approach;
(b) new approach.

The N-segment method was put forward by Zeng et al. [6]
to deal with this nonlinear optimization problem. The excessive
volumetric specific heat is considered as a function of tempera-
ture. The ideal distribution of the excessive volumetric specific
heat in effective temperature range (tp,min to tp,max ) with minimal
I sum /I winter can be determined through the sequential quadratic
programming (SQP) method when other conditions are given.
The results showed that the ideal forms of c p of thermal mass
in the studied cities all approached to afunction (Figure 3). The
critical values of excessive enthalpy Hex were different in var-
ious climate regions. However, the corresponding characteristic
temperatures tc of the ideal thermal mass were close to each
other in the Chinese mainland. From an energy-saving perspec-
tive, the implication is that the ideal building envelope material
has the thermal mass characteristics of phase-change material.
The characteristic temperature corresponds to the phase-change
temperature, and the excessive enthalpy corresponds to the heat
of fusion of the phase-change material.
Our research group has also presented several analytical opti-
mization methods to improve the thermal performance of PCMs
used in building envelopes. These analytical optimizations are
also based on the already-mentioned inverse problem method.
Xiao et al. [7] established a simplified theoretical model to opti-
mize an interior PCM for energy storage in a lightweight passive
solar room. For an optimal phase-change temperature, the en-
ergy stored and released by the PCM should be equal in a cycle.

heat transfer engineering vol. 35 nos. 1112 2014

 R. CHENG ET AL.
120
100
tc
80
cp* (MJm C )
-1
-3o
60
40
20
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0 of the inorganic PCMs used in buildings are hydrated salts. Nor-
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
o
t ( C)
Figure 3 Optimal distribution of cp (t) in passive solar buildings [6].
Analytical equations were presented to calculate the optimal
phase-change temperature and the total amount of latent heat
capacity and to estimate the benefit of the interior PCM for en-
ergy storage. The analytical optimization results showed that:
(1) The optimal phase-change temperature depends on the av-
erage indoor air temperature and the radiation absorbed by the
PCM panels; (2) the interior PCM has little effect on average
indoor air temperature; and (3) the amplitude of the indoor air
temperature fluctuation depends on the product of surface heat
transfer coefficient and area of the PCM panels in a lightweight
passive solar room. Jiang et al. [8] improved the work of Xiao
et al. [7], as they didnt limit their analysis within one energy
storage cycle and let the energy stored and released be the same.
They concluded that the optimal phase-change temperature de-
pends on the lower limit of indoor thermal comfort. It increases
with air change rate, the overall heat transfer coefficient of the
exterior wall and window, and decreases with increasing the
lowest outdoor solarair temperature at the outside surfaces of
window and exterior wall, the lowest outdoor air temperature,
and the inner heat source. Jiang et al. [8] applied the proposed
method to seven typical cities in China by using the annual me-
teorological data. However, Xiao et al. [7] expressed the climatic
data of typical January day in Beijing by Fourier series as the
sum of sinusoidal components in order to apply the proposed
method. The optimal melting temperature through simulation
under given conditions (20.0 C) is approximately equal to the
analytical result (19.9 C). But the amplitude for the analyti-
cal method (0.47 C) is much less than that with the simulation
(0.76 C).
PHASE-CHANGE MATERIALS USED IN BUILDINGS
According to our new understanding for designing and opti-
mizing the thermal performance of building envelopes, it can be
inferred that the ideal characteristics of PCMs used for building
heat transfer engineering
973
energy conservation include: (1) proper phase-change temper-
ature (1830 C) [9]; (2) large heat of fusion because the space
of the building envelope is limited and it should have good heat
transfer ability in order to store and release the heat effectively;
and (3) the PCMs stable thermal performance for a long period
with no or a small degree of supercooling. In addition, it is better
to have economic feasibility.
According to different phase-change states, PCMs fall
into three groups: solidsolid PCMs, solidliquid PCMs. and
liquidgas PCMs. Among these the solidliquid PCMs are most
suitable for thermal energy storage. Generally speaking, the
candidate PCMs that can be used for thermal energy storage in
buildings are paraffins, salt hydrates, and their mixtures. Most
32 mally the hydrated salts are good candidates for thermal energy
storage in buildings due to their high thermal storage density,
about 240 kJ/kg, their thermal conductivity, which is usually
more or less than 0.5 W/(m-K), and their comparatively low
economic cost compared with paraffins. Although they have the
proper melting temperatures and heat of fusion at low economic
cost, they havent been widely used because of the supercooling
and their corrosivity or strong moisture-absorbing ability among
the building materials. Organic PCMs can be normally catego-
rized into paraffins and non-paraffins. Paraffins are avaliable
in a wide range of melting temperatures from approximately
20 C up to about 70 C. The noticeable advantage of paraffins
is that they dont undergo phase segregation due to their low
vapor temperature. However, paraffins usually have a low ther-
mal conductivity of about 0.2 W/(m-K) [10] and a large volume
change [11] during the phase-change process, which limit the
its application. Non-paraffin organics include a wide selection
of organic materials such as fatty acids, esters, alcohols, and
glycols. They usually have excellent melting and freezing prop-
erties for thermal energy storage in buildings, but are about three
times or more expensive than paraffins [12].
ENCAPSULATING METHODS OF PCMS
In order to decrease the leakage risk of the PCMs used in
building envelopes, they should be encapsulated into containers.
The most commonly used encapsulated PCMs in buildings are
shape-stabilized phase-change materials and microencapsulated
phase-change materials.
Shape-Stabilized Phase-Change Material
Shape stabilized phase-change material is effective to de-
crease the leakage risk of PCMs used in buildings. Normally
shape-stabilized phase-change materials (SSPCMs) are com-
posed of working substances and supporting materials [13].
Shape-stabilized PCMs can remain in solid state even when
the working materials change from solid to liquid [14], which
is usually more convenient for practical application than the
vol. 35 nos. 1112 2014
 974 R. CHENG ET AL.
solidliquid system. Most shape-stabilized PCMs are prepared
by physical methods, such as blending, adsorbing, impregna-
tion, and so on [15, 16], or chemical methods, including graft
copolymerization and the solgel method [17, 18]. As the per-
centage of phase-change material in the composition of SSPCM
is usually very high (above 80%), the thermal energy storage
capacity of SSPCM is comparable with paraffins. When the op-
erating temperature is below the melting point of the supporting
material, the compound material can keep its shape unchanged
through the whole phase-change process [19]. This advantage
of SSPCM means it can reduce the leakage problem of conven-
tional PCM and it can be applied into energy storage application.
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Microencapsulation of PCM
Microencapsulation refers to techniques in which a large
number of small PCM particles are contained within a sealed,
continuous matrix. Because the matrix encapsulating the PCM
doesnt always have high thermal conductivity, the microencap-
sulation system suffers from low heat transfer rate. In order to
overcome such shortcomings of microencapsulation and lower
its cost, several related researches on thermal physical proper-
ties of various kinds of microencapsulated PCM are completed:
(1) Xu et al. [20] encapsulated the microcapsules containing
wax with 1- to 5-m diameter poly fabricated by radical poly-
merization around the wax in a dispersion system. The testing
results revealed that the content of the core material was up to
about 70 wt%, and the microcapsules had a high heat of fu-
sion (99 kJ/kg). (2) Wan et al. [21] studied different methods of
microencapsulation of phase-change materials. In this research,
encapsulated tetradecane and paraffin wax particles were pre-
pared by complex coacervation as well as by emulsifier-free
emulsion polymerization.
MEASUREMENT METHOD OF THERMAL PHYSICAL
PROPERTIES OF PHASE-CHANGE MATERIALS
Accurate measurement of thermal physical properties of
PCMs and its mixtures with building materials is very important
to evaluate and simulate PCM thermal performance in buildings.
However, this is not an easy thing because of the phase-change
process. Some methods were put forward during recent years
to determine the effective thermal physical properties of phase-
change materials. The commonly used methods are the DSC
and T-history methods [22].
DSC Method
Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is a thermoanalyt-
ical technique in which the difference in the amount of heat
required to increase the temperature of a sample and that for
a reference is measured as a function of temperature. From a
heat transfer engineering
single DSC test that consists of regularly cooling and heating
of a sample, one expects to obtain qualitative and quantitative
information on the phase transitions of a sample, such as transi-
tion temperature, enthalpy, thermal conductivity, heat capacity,
specific heat, and latent heat [2327]. The DSC method has been
widely used in many aspects, which include safety screening,
drug analysis [28], general chemical analysis [29], and food
science [30].
However, there are some limitations of using the DSC meth-
ods to determine the thermal physical properties of PCM con-
cretes: (1) The samples tested by them are usually very small
(110 mg) so that the thermal physical properties of samples
are usually different from those of the bulk materials used in
practical systems. (2) The DSC measurements procedures are
complicated and the equipment is expensive. (3) DSC cant de-
termine the heat of fusion, specific heats, and thermal conduc-
tivities of several PCM samples simultaneously. The limitations
and uncertainties of the DSC methods in practice have been
analyzed by many researchers and are summarized in Table 1
[3136]. It can be concluded from Table 1 that the measurement
results will be mainly influenced by the following factors: heat
transfer conditions, heating rate and sample geometry, heat con-
ductivity of the sample, structure recovery and thermal lag, and
the multivariable co-effect. Thus, there may be some system-
atic errors between different testing results with various types
of equipment, which hinder the comparisons between different
measurement results under different measurement conditions
and equipment.
T-History Method
In order to overcome the mentioned limitations and uncer-
tainties of DSC methods, Zhang et al. [22] proposed a novel
testing method of thermal physical properties of PCMs: the T-
history method, which has been adopted and analyzed by many
researchers. The T-history method derives the latent heat of
PCM through a comparison of the temperature history of the
PCM and that of a reference material (such as water) under ex-
perimental conditions capable of the lumped capacity method
(Bi < 0.1). Experimental rigs are shown in Figure 4. The advan-
tages of the T-history method are: (1) It can measure the thermal
physical properties of bulk materials, which is impossible for the
DSC method; (2) it can simultaneously derive the phase-change
temperature, heat of fusion, specific heat, and even the thermal
conductivity in one experiment; and (3) it doesnt need com-
plicated and expensive experimental rigs and the measurement
procedure is very simple and fast.
The T-history method has attracted many researchers inter-
ests since it was first proposed, and some improvements to this
method have been put forward. Many effective improvements
to the original T-history method were put forward by differ-
ent researchers. The main revisions and their improvements are
shown in Table 2 [3740].
vol. 35 nos. 1112 2014
 R. CHENG ET AL. 975

Table 1 Limitations and uncertainties of DSC method in practice

Factors Main works Conclusions Reference

Heat transfer conditions
Heating rate and sample geometry
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The calibration functions of amplitude and phase
lag of the dynamic heat-flow rate of
temperature-modulated DSC are investigated by
model calculations.
The influences of heat resistances and heat transfers
on the uncertainty of heat-capacity measurements
by means of DSC method are analyzed.
The influence of the heating rate and the sample
geometry on the apparent specific capacity of the
PCM during the melting process are examined
experimentally and numerically.
The accuracy is better in the low frequency range. [31]
And the calibration is linearly independent of the
measurement conditions.
An offset of 5% can be observed experimentally, [32]
leads to a deviation of 1% of the DSC signal and
the heat capacity determined by conventional
DSC methods.
Both heating rate and PCM geometry affect the [33]
DSC thermograms and the apparent specific heat
capacity of the PCM.

Heat conductivity of the sample
Structure recovery and thermal lag
Multiple variables influences
A method is shown that allows a correction of the
smeared DSC curves on the basis of linear
response in the case study of badly heat
conducting samples. The necessary Greens
function can be derived from the smeared curve
without additional measurement.
TheToolNarayanaswamyMoynihan (TNM)
equation is applied to analyze a typical
temperature-modulated DSC trace and examine
the influence of the material nonlinearities on the
dynamic heat flow.
The influence of variables on the determination of
the heat of fusion for phases with different
crystallinity was investigated using oscillating
differential scanning calorimetry (ODSC).
Heat conduction in DSC and sample as well as heat [34]
transfers cause a falsification (smearing) of the
measured heat flux in DSC measurements.
The distortion degree increases as the magnitude of [35]
the excess enthalpy annealing peak increases. An
apparent phase lag can result in the measured
response due to the presence of thermal gradients
in the sample.
Amplitude, frequency and heating rate did not [36]
significantly influence the conventional heat of
fusion values but had a great impact on the
values of the cp and the kinetic components.

APPLICATIONS OF PHASE-CHANGE MATERIAL IN implemented in gypsum board, plaster, concrete, or other

BUILDING ENVELOPES wall covering material, thermal energy storage can be part of
building structure, especially for light-weight buildings. Nor-
PCMs have been considered for thermal energy storage in mally, the PCMs were integrated with wallboards and concretes
buildings since before 1980 [41]. With the advent of PCM to enhance the thermal energy storage capacity of building

Table 2 Improvements of the original T-history method and their effects

Problems in the original method Improvements Effect of improvements Reference

(1) It adopts the release point [a in of
supercooling as the end of phase
change period. (2) It doesnt include
the sensible heat in the phase change
period.
Improve the presentation format of the
original method.
The original method using a vertically
oriented test tube, which will
decrease the accuracy of PCMs with
lower T m than ambient temperature
because of nature convection.
Cant handle granular materials
undergoing phase change over a
temperature range and the accuracy
is limited by assumptions of constant
temperature-dependent specific
heats.
(1) Uses an inflection point as the boundary
between phase change and solid-state periods,
where the first derivative of T-history curve for
PCM becomes minimum. (2) The sensible heat
in the phase change period was considered in
the modified method.
The method is proposed to present the results
obtained in the form of enthalpytemperature
curves.
The accuracy of the measurement with the
original T-history method was improved by
setting the test tube horizontally. They also
suggested the addition of aluminum foil
externally to avoid radiation effects.
The concept of enthalpy and its relationship with
temperature has been employed in the analysis
to overcome these problems.
Enthalpytemperature and apparent heat
capacity curves were obtained.
The heat of fusion tested is in good [37]
agreement with that by DSC within
4% discrepancies.
The enthalpytemperature curves can [38]
value the variation of the thermal
properties against temperature.
H m measured with the modified method [39]
is only a 2.1% error for distilled water
and a 3.9% error for the paraffin; The
accuracy of the specific heat at the
solid phase calculated by the low
temperature T-history method is low.
Experiments showed that the analysis of [40]
temperature variation along the bed
shows good agreement with the
measured phase-change
characteristics.

heat transfer engineering vol. 35 nos. 1112 2014

 976 R. CHENG ET AL.
Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the experimental rig [22].
Downloaded by [Indian Institute of Technology Madras] at 22:17 01 November 2017
envelopes. With the increase of thermal storage capacity, more
natural energy resources (night cooling in summer night and
solar radiation in winter daytime) can be stored to improve the
thermal comfort in passive buildings and decrease the total en-
ergy consumption in active buildings. Nowadays, many new
methods to combine PCMs with building envelopes have been
put forward, such as integrating the PCMs with solar collectors
[42, 43], heat pipes [44, 45], or hot water systems [46, 47].
Phase-change thermal storage air conditioning is an important
measure of transforming a part of peak loads of the day to val-
ley loads of the night. In order to integrate PCMs with building
envelopes effectively, various means of integrating PCMs with
building envelopes or other energy storage systems have been
investigated by us. The various kinds of energy to be stored
in summer (i.e., night cooling) and winter (i.e., the solar en-
ergy in daytime and the off-peak electricity during the night)
determine different corresponding equipment types used in the
phase-change thermal energy storage process. Thus, the thermal
comfort and energy-saving performance in summer and winter
should be analyzed, respectively.
PCMs in Building Envelopes in Summer
Generally speaking, applications of PCMs in building en-
velopes in summer are mainly for two purposes: (1) combina-
tion of PCMs with windows and ceilings to decrease solar heat
gain in daytime, and (2) integration of PCMs in building en-
velopes to increase thermal capacity of building walls to store
night cooling in order to improve thermal comfort and decrease
the energy consumption of air conditioners in da time.
Combination of PCMs With Windows and Ceilings
Alawadhi [48] investigated a window shutter filled with PCM
as a method for reducing the heat gain in buildings during day-
time in summer. This can reduce the heat flow from outdoor
space by absorbing the heat gain in the shutter through a melting
process before it reaches the indoor space during the daytime.
The result indicates that the PCM with the highest examined
melting temperature showed the best thermal performance, and
the heat gain through windows can be reduced by 23.29%.
heat transfer engineering
Ismail and Henrquez [49] used experiments and simulations
to validate that the proposed concept of the PCM-filled win-
dow system is viable and thermally effective. Wang and Niu
[50] proposed a novel design of a cooling ceiling operating with
microencapsulated phase-change material (MPCM) slurry ther-
mal storage. It showed that the daytime electricity demand can
be decreased by 33% when the proposed combined system is
installed in an office room.
Night Cooling Storage Using PCMs in Building Envelopes
Integration of PCMs with the building envelope in summer
can increase its thermal energy storage capacity for night cool-
ing, which can effectively improve indoor thermal comfort and
decrease cooling energy consumption of air conditioners in day-
time. In order to study and improve the thermal performance of
integrating PCMs with building envelopes to store night cool-
ing, our research group has completed some research studies
on this topic through experiments and numerical simulations.
These works mainly focus on the effects of different thermal
physical properties on thermal performance of night ventilation
integrated with PCMs in China through numerical simulations,
which are summarized and compared in Table 3 [5158]. Also
see Figures 5 [54] and 6 [55].
Applications of PCMs in Building Envelopes in Winter
The energy storage capacity of solar radiation of building
envelopes can be greatly enhanced by integrating it with PCMs.
Using PCM wallboards is the most direct way to increase in-
door thermal comfort and decrease additional heating energy
consumption in winter. In addition, there are many ways to
combine the PCMs with other energy storage devices, such as
using solar collectors, or heat pipes as the heat source. Com-
pared with the applications of PCMs in building envelopes in
summer, their usage in winter is more extensive.
Direct Applications of PCMs With Building Walls in Winter
Integration of PCMs with building walls is one of the sim-
plest and most effective ways to absorb and store solar radiations
in winter. In a building context, pure organic or inorganic PCMs
can be impregnated into the porous structure of traditional con-
struction materials such as gypsum, concrete, or ceramic, which
are normally used as internal surface linings. There are many
ways to directly integrate the PCMs into building envelopes,
among them (a) PCM wallboards, (b) PCM trombe wall, and
(c) PCM shutter.
PCM wallboards. Our research group has finished many re-
lated works on the thermal performance of PCM wallboards in
passive solar buildings through numerical simulation and exper-
iments [59, 60]. The optimal phase-change temperature and heat
of fusion of the PCM wallboards are also derived for the best
vol. 35 nos. 1112 2014
 R. CHENG ET AL. 977

Table 3 Research studies related to night cooling storage using PCMs

Thermal comfort/energy saving

Application place Working conditions and PCM used performance Reference

PCM wallboard
Night ventilation with PCM (NVP) packed
bed system (Figure 5)
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In Yining, Xinjiang. Optimal Tm and thickness of The integrated discomfort degrees can be [51]
PCM are 26 C and 25 mm, exterior insulation with decreased by 35%.
thickness of 40 mm, nighttime ACH is 50 h1.
In Beijing typical summer day. Concretes with PCM Maximum indoor air temperature [52]
(Tm = 2832 C, Hm = 60 kJ/kg,), ACH = 20 h1 decreased by 2 C and temperature
for night ventilation. swing decreased.
In Beijing summer days. Optimal SSPCM values, Daily maximum temperature decreased by [53]
Tm = 26 C, Hm = 160 kJ/kg, k = 0.5 W/(m- C), L up to 2 C with SSPCM.
= 20 mm. Larger ACH is better.
In Beijing June to July. PCM values, k = The COP (the ratio of cooling discharging [54]
0.2 W/(m C), Tm = 2226 C, Hm = 190 kJ/kg. amount to the room to fan power

Hybrid space-cooling system with
mechanical night ventilation and thermal
storage using SSPCM. (Figure 6)
Experimental installation flat plate PCM
encapsulate
In an office room in Beijing summer. PCM values,
k = 0.2 W/(m- C), Tm = 2226 C, Hm = 190
kJ/kg. Nighttime ACH = 40 h1, daytime ACH =
1 h1.
A mean loading capacity of 3,000 W, inlet temperature
during night of 16 C for 4 h, inlet temperature
during day of 30 C. Airflow rate should let Biot
number near 1 to maximum heat transfer rate.
Graphite can be added to enhance heat transfer.
consumption) is 80.
It saves 76% of daytime energy [55]
consumption compared with no night
ventilation and SSPCM. The electrical
COPs of night ventilation (the reduced
cooling energy/fan power) are 7.5 and
6.5 with and without SSPCM.
A payback period of 34 years, and an [5658]
electric power 9.4 lower than the
conventional one.

thermal performance. Similar works were completed by many
other researchers, which are summarized in Table 4 [5962].
PCM Trombe wall. Traditional Trombe walls rely on sensi-
ble heat storage, but because of the potential for greater heat
storage per unit mass, the PCM Trombe wall is an attractive
concept still awaiting successful implementation. A wall filled
with PCM is constructed on the south-side window of a house.
The wall is heated during the day by incoming solar radiation,
melting the PCM. At night the heat is withdrawn to warm the
house. For a given amount of heat storage, the phase-change
units require less space than water walls or mass Trombe walls
and are much lighter in weight. The phase-change materials
have been used to replace masonry in a Trombe wall. Experi-
mental and theoretical tests have been conducted to investigate
the reliability of PCMs as a Trombe wall [6365], in order to
analyze how PCM latent heat storage is useful to improve ther-
mal performance of an ordinary Trombe wall for passive solar
heating.
PCM shutter. Soares et al. [66] proposed a PCM shutter for
buildings space heating during the winter. Based on the nu-
merical simulation results, the optimal melting temperature of
the PCM in this system in Coimbra is 20 C. In their simulated

Figure 5 Experimental installation of the NVP system [54].

heat transfer engineering vol. 35 nos. 1112 2014

 978 R. CHENG ET AL.

Table 4 Research studies on solar energy storage with PCM wallboards

Experimental/simulation conditions PCMs used Main conclusions Reference

A direct gain room with SSPCM plates in
Urumchi, Beijing, and Shanghai.
A typical south-facing middle room in a
multi-layer building in Beijing.
A 6 mm iron plate, the heat flux meter, the
Downloaded by [Indian Institute of Technology Madras] at 22:17 01 November 2017
SSPCM (cp = 1 kJ/(kg-K), Hm = 1.2
kJ/kg, k = 0.2 W/m-K), with various
Tm in different places.
Hm is 150 kJ/kg, and various melting
temperatures are considered for optimal
selection. Mixed type PCM-gypsum is
the compound of PCM and gypsum.
And SSPCM is compounded of PCM
and the supporting material-HDPE.
A commercial PCM wallboard (Knauf,
For given conditions, suitable Tm equal to [59]
the average indoor air temperature. Hm >
120 kJ/kg, k > 0.5 W/(m- C), L <
20 mm, air-gap between PCM plates and
the floor should be as smaller as possible.
Under given conditions, optimal Tm = 21 C. [60]
Both mixed type PCM-gypsum and
shape-stabilized PCM plates effectively
shave the indoor temperature swing by
46% and 56%.
Optimal Tm close to average room [61]

15 mm thick PCM wallboard and 200 mm
isopink insulation layer was placed in a
room where the room temperature was
manipulated using a number of convective
heaters and an air-conditioner.
Three naturally ventilated, zones were
established to represent a middle portion
of a multi-storey office. Weather data for
Warsaw (52 N) in 1982 was used for
simulations.
Germany) containing encapsulated
organic phase change material was
used. Tm = 297 K, Hm = 246 kJ/m2.
PCM impregnated gypsum board. Hm =
45 kJ/kg, Tm range = 1 K, k =
0.35 W/(m-K). Tm = 21 C, Mar. 612;
= 24 C Mar. 27Apr.2; = 27 C; =
30 C, May 2329; July 1925.
temperature to maximize the thermal heat
storage in the wallboards. Optimal L of
PCM board is 15 mm and the thermal
energy storage reaches maximum for the
case of h = 3 W/m2 K. Time shift
decrease with h and range of Tm .
The PCMs did effectively store solar energy [62]
in the transitions periods. The solar energy
stored in the PCMgypsum panels can
reduce the heating energy demand by up
to 90% at times during the heating season.

cases, the total energy stored and released by the optimum sys-
tem during a complete 24-hour-day cycle can reach 2501.3 kJ.
Buddhi et al. [67] compared the thermal performance of a test
cell (1 m 1 m 1 m) with and without a PCM window in
south direction. It was found that the heat storing capacity of the
cell due to the presence of PCM increase up to 4 C for 45 h,
and was used during nighttime.
Integration of PCMs With Off-Peak Electric Heating System
in Buildings in Winter
Integration of PCMs into building envelopes to store the
heat produced by off-peak electricity can effectively transfer
the peak electricity demand to off-peak times, which has similar
benefits compared with an ice cooling storage system. Usu-
ally, the PCMs can be applied into the floors or other internal
building envelopes to absorb the off-peak heating energy. Some
researchers have presented related works on this topic. Our re-
search group has also analyzed and optimized the thermal com-
fort and energy-saving performance of this electric heating sys-
tem with PCMs through numerical simulation and experiments.
In addition, there are some novel ideas regarding thermal storage
of the off-peak electricity for peak time heating.
Under-floor electric heating system with PCMs. There are
many benefits of using floor radiant heating systems with ther-
mal energy storage: (1) It can use the floors to heat the in-
door environment without additional complex installations [68];
(2) combination of thermal energy storage with electric heating
can improve the building energy efficiency without decreasing
thermal comfort level [69]; and (3) it can transfer the electrical
heat transfer engineering
consumption from peak periods to the valley ones, which will
generate great economic benefit [68]. Our research group pro-
posed some kinds of under-floor electric heating system with
PCMs, and they also studied the thermal performance of them
through numerical simulations and experiments. A summaru of
our work and related research is shown in Table 5 [7074]. Also
see Figure 7 [72].
Other off-peak electric heating systems with PCMs. Ham-
mou and Lacroix [75] proposed a new system that can store
and manage simultaneously and efficiently heat from solar and
electric sources. In this system, called a hybrid thermal energy
storage system (HTESS), solar energy is stored during sunny
days and recovered later at night or during cloudy days, while
thermal electricity energy is stored during off-peak periods and
recovered during on-peak periods. Through numerical simu-
lations with meteorological data for four consecutive winter
months in Montreal, Canada, the results showed that the elec-
tricity consumption for space heating was reduced by nearly
32%. Also, more than 90% of the electric energy is consumed
during off-peak hours. Thus, much electric energy consumption
and economic cost can be reduced.
Solar Energy Storage and Heating System With PCMs
Solar air heating systems with PCMs. Our research group
proposed a new kind of solar energy heating system with shape-
stabilized PCM [76]. The solar radiation energy was gained by
an air solar collector, and the heated air was sent to the under-
floor space of the room by duct during the daytime. Then the
thermal energy was stored in the shape-stabilized PCM plates.
At night the heat energy stored in the PCM could be released into
vol. 35 nos. 1112 2014
 R. CHENG ET AL. 979

Table 5 Research studies on under-floor heating system with PCMs

Experimental/simulation conditions PCMs used Main conclusions Reference

In Beijing. Under-floor heating electrical
heating system in building with
SSPCM plates.
In Beijing. Electric heating system with
ductless air supply and SSPCM for
thermal storage.
On Jan.1 in Beijing. Electrical heating
phase change heat storage floor system
(Figure 7).
Downloaded by [Indian Institute of Technology Madras] at 22:17 01 November 2017
SSPCM consists of 75 wt% paraffin and
25 wt% polyethylene as a supporting
material. Tm = 52 C, Hm = 150 kJ/kg.
SSPCM consists of 75 wt% paraffin and
25 wt% polyethylene as a supporting
material. Tm = 52 C, Hm = 150 kJ/kg.
Tm = 312314 K, Hm = 150 kJ/kg, k =
0.5 W/(m-K).
For the tested room, 3.3 kWh electric heat [70]
energy was shifted from the peak period to
the off peak period every day, which was
54% of the total heat consumption.
The total electrical energy consumption [71]
shifted from the peak period to the off-peak
period, which would provide significant
economic benefits because of the different
day and night electricity tariffs.
14.3% energy consumption decreased [72]
compared with heat convectors, and the
indoor temperature distribution is more

even that with convective heating.

Whole heating season (from November 15
to March 15) in Beijing. A novel
form-stable phase-change material
(FSPCM) as the thermal storage layer
of an electric floor heating system.
Electrical under floor heating system.
The mass fractions of MEP, HDPE, WF,
MMG, and other components are 25%,
30%, 30%, 10%,and 5%, respectively.
Tm = 18.423.5 C.
Paraffin wax, Tm = 40 C. 30 mm layer of
PCM between the heating surface and the
floor tiles.
The maximum total power consumption can [73]
be decreased by 30.8% compared with no
PCMs.
The heat output of the floor could be [74]
increased significantly from 30 to
75 W/m2 with the usage of PCMs.

the room by ductless air supply. Advantages of this system are:
(1) The system is safe and reliable without heating pipes; (2) the
PCM floor can be maintained above 18 C when daytime solar
radiation is enough; and (3) heating is provided by radiation in
daytime and forced convection by fans in nighttime with stable
speed, so the temperature difference in the whole room is very
small.
Solar water heating systems with PCMs. Solar thermal en-
ergy had been traditionally stored in the form of sensible heat
by raising the temperature of water or rocks for later use. Al-
though such systems are very simple, they are inefficient to
store enough solar energy compared with latent heat storage.
PCMs integration with solar water heaters attracted the inter-
ests of many researchers. Different designs of the system have

Figure 6 Daily variation of auxiliary cooling supply with and without SSPCM plates [55].

heat transfer engineering vol. 35 nos. 1112 2014

 980 R. CHENG ET AL.
Downloaded by [Indian Institute of Technology Madras] at 22:17 01 November 2017
Figure 7 Photo of the under-floor electric heating system [72].
been proposed and analyzed by many researchers. Shukla [77]
designed two solar water heaters with paraffin as thermal en-
ergy storage material. It showed that on a 24-hour cycle basis,
the two systems were able to deliver hot water during the night
and morning with 45% and 60% efficiency, respectively. Rabin
et al. [78] designed an integrated solar collector storage system
with salt hydrate as the PCM. The salt hydrate eutectic mixture,
which is composed of 48% CaCl2 , 4.5% KCl, 0.4% NaCl, and
47.1% H2 O with a nucleating agent BaCl2 at 1% by weight, had
a phase transition temperature of 2729 C and latent heat of fu-
sion 164 kJ/kg. Tayeb [79] developed a system for domestic hot
water using Na2 SO4 .10H2 O as a PCM and the optimal inlet flow
rate was determined to maintain constant-temperature water at
the outlet.
A novel structure of an integrated water pipe floor heating
system using shape-stabilized phase-change materials (SSPCM)
for thermal energy storage was developed and experimentally
studied by Zeng et al. [80]. The results showed that the energy
storage ratio (ESR) of the SSPCM floor is much higher than
that of the non-SSPCM floor. The SSPCM floor heating system
can provide stable heat flux and prevent a large attenuation of
the floor surface temperature. Also, the SSPCM floor heating
system dampens the indoor temperature swing by about 50%
and increases the minimum indoor air temperature by 23 C
under experimental conditions.
RELATING RESEARCH TOPICS FOR FUTURE STUDY
Although there have been many accomplishments achieved
through the already-mentioned studies, there are still some
points with high social and scientific values that need to be
further studied in the future: (1) Simultaneously analyze the co-
effects of thermal physical properties of PCMs with other key
parameters in building envelopes design, and try to optimize
their working parameters and control strategies through the pro-
heat transfer engineering
posed inverse problem method. Such analyses not only focus
on preparations of new PCMs to be used in buildings, but also
should emphasize optimal control strategies of the thermal en-
ergy storage system, which can coordinate with thermal energy
storage process of PCMs and make full use of renewable energy
resources. (2) Accurate measurements are needed of thermal
physical properties of mixtures of PCMs integrated with build-
ing construction materials. As thermal physical properties of
small samples tested by conventional methods cant represent
equivalent values of the inhomogeneous bulk materials, it is a
novel and important issue to design a measurement procedure
for such materials. (3) The safety and long-term evaluation of
PCMs integration with building envelopes is needed. (4) Ef-
fective evaluation indexes considering thermal comfort level,
additive energy consumption, and economic cost should be pro-
posed to access the integrated performance of PCMs in different
buildings.
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the review work of energy-efficient building en-
velopes with phase-change materials in this paper, some new
understandings of current works can be found: (1) The new
optimization method based on the inverse problem is more ef-
fective than conventional means in determining and explaining
the mechanisms of ideal building envelopes thermal physical
properties; (2) in current studies, the analytical optimization of
PCMs thermal physical properties, which can provide a better
understanding, is much less compared with numerical studies;
(3) current studies neglect the evaluation of long-term perfor-
mance of PCMs and their safety impact on humans in building
envelopes; (4) low thermal conductivity and high cost are still
limitations preventing extensive applications of PCMs in build-
ings; (5) many studies regarding the applications of PCMs in
building envelope just focus on their thermal performance in a
vol. 35 nos. 1112 2014
 R. CHENG ET AL. 981

specific season (e.g. in summer or winter)however, the whole- in indoor

year performance of such applications should be experimentally out outdoor
analyzed; and (6) there still is a lack of some effective indexes r radiation
simultaneously considering indoor thermal comfort, energy ef- R room
ficiency, and economic feasibility by using PCM applications. sum summer
The usage of PCM energy storage in buildings will definitely w wall
be more extensive as the energy shortage problem is becoming win window/winter
more crucial than ever before. More applications and relatied
problems are yet to be discovered and solved in the future.
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Rui Cheng is a Ph.D. student in the Department of
Building Science, Tsinghua University, China. He
worked on the new concepts and methods to de-
velop sustainable buildings, applications of phase-
change materials in building envelopes and their test-
ing methods. He obtained his bachelors degree from
North China Electric Power University (2010).
Xin Wang is an associate professor in the Department
of Building Science, Tsinghua University, China. She
received her Ph.D. degree from Southeast University
(2001). She is now focusing on sustainable energy ap-
plication, heat and mass transfer, and energy storage
in the built environment. She won the New Century
Excellent Talent Award (2009) and the Second-Rate
Prize in Science of the Ministry of Education of China
(2005).
Yinping Zhang is a professor and director of the
Institute of Built Environment, Department of Build-
ing Science, Tsinghua University, China. He is the
administrative deputy director and secretary-in-chief
of Chinese Association of Indoor Environment and
Health. His research interests are indoor air quality,
heat and mass transfer, and energy storage in the built
environment. He has published more than 100 inter-
national journal papers. He serves on the editorial or
advisory boards of seven international journals, such
as Indoor Air, Built Environment, and Indoor and Built Environment.
vol. 35 nos. 1112 2014