Thermal Behavior of a Building Provided With Phase-Change Materials on the Roof and Exposed to Solar Radiation

Abstract

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of phase change materials (PCMs) for the improvement of summer thermal comfort in lightweight buildings. Experiments have been carried out using PCM in the form of DuPont Energain wallboards in combination with a roof. Two factors influencing the effectiveness of PCM (thickness and location of PCM layer) have been investigated. An experimental study was carried out using two identical test cavities submitted to Casablanca weather. Thermal performance such as the roof surface temperatures and heat flux densities, through the envelope, have been studied. The results indicated that, compared with reference room (without PCM), the thermal storage allows solar radiation to be stored and released up to 6–7 h after solar irradiation; this has effects on both the reduction of daily temperature swings (up to 2 °C) and heat flux (more than 88%). It has been proved that the PCM with a thickness of 10.52 mm on the outer face of the roof has good thermal insulation effect and energy efficiency potential.