Suitability Assessment and Experimental Characterization of Phase Change Materials for Energy Conservation in Indian Buildings

With increasing energy consumption in buildings, energy efficiency measures are matter of prime concern. A huge portion of energy consumed in buildings is used for regulating the thermal comfort. A solution to this is to incorporate phase change material (PCM) within the building elements which increases their overall thermal capacity. In the present study, the temperature of inner room surface, with and without PCM incorporation, is calculated for composite climate of Delhi. The analysis of PCM sandwiched walls has been performed. The performance analysis of five PCMs, having different melting temperatures, is carried out with nodal temperatures as the output. The results show that a phase change temperature range of 34-38 degrees C is suitable for peak summer conditions of Delhi. It is also observed that due to the low thermal conductivity of PCMs, they act as both storage medium and insulation, thus reducing temperature fluctuation during summer/winter. Based on the simulation, three PCMs were found suitable and hence were experimentally tested for their characteristic charging and discharging properties and performance, using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Based on the characterization results, it is concluded that two commercially available PCMs (Eicosane and OM35) are suitable for Delhi. All the other PCMs have also been simulated for different climatic conditions in India and their impact on heat gain has been assessed.