Search results for "Thermal mass"
showing 5 items of 5 documents
A numerical solution that determines the temperature field inside phase change materials: application in buildings
2013
The use of novel building materials that contain active thermal components would be a major advancement in achieving significant heating and cooling energy savings. In the last 40 years, Phase Change Materials or PCMs have been tested as thermal mass components in buildings, and most studies have found that PCMs enhance the building energy performance. The use of PCMs as an energy storage device is due to their relatively high fusion latent heat; during the melting and/or solidification phase, a PCM is capable of storing or releasing a large amount of energy. PCMs in a wall layer store solar energy during the warmer hours of the day and release it during the night, thereby decreasing and sh…
Multi-Objective Building Envelope Optimization through a Life Cycle Assessment Approach
2019
This work describes a methodology for the identification of the optimal features for the envelope of a residential building. The optimization process allows minimizing operating energy consumption, investment costs and life cycle energy and environmental embodied impacts. A dynamic model for the estimation of building energy consumption during its use phase has been employed, while literature data were adopted for embodied energy and global warming potential impacts. The considered variables refer to the envelope of the building, i.e. external walls and roof insulation and external walls thermal mass. The model was obtained combining EnergyPlus building energy simulator and MOBO, a versatil…
PCM Thermal Energy Storage in Buildings: Experimental Study and Applications
2015
Abstract The study aims at analyzing the performance of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) in residential housing for different climates. This paper presents the results of an experiment performed in the Concordia University Solar Simulator and Environmental Chamber research facility (SSEC, Montreal, Canada). PCM boards were embedded on the back wall of a test hut placedin the climatic chamber. Several experiments were performed to explore the potential for verification of the proposed analysis and to produce enough data to perform model calibrations. Results show a strong increase in the apparent thermal inertia of the room allowing for a reduction in daily temperature fluctuations in the test …
Experimental testing of phase change materials in a warm-summer humid continental climate
2019
Abstract The construction industry (and buildings) is one of the largest energy consuming and CO2 emitting sectors in the world. To counter this, more lightweight structures are being used and energy saving applications are being developed. Phase change materials (PCM) are materials that can be considered to tackle these new challenges. It has been proven that PCMs can be passively used to improve the thermal mass of lightweight structures, which improves thermal comfort and reduces peak cooling and heating loads and therefore provides energy savings. To use these materials in an active way, they should be used together with ventilation, cooling or heating equipment, and collectors to accum…
Effects of network pressure on water meter under-registration: an experimental analysis
2018
Abstract. In water supply systems, a considerable amount of apparent loss is caused by meter under-registration. Water meters are subject to intrinsic systemic error depending on the actual flow rates passing through them. Furthermore, the moving parts of the meter are subject to wear and tear that progressively reduce meter accuracy. The increase in systemic error is especially evident at low flow rates because of growing friction in the rotating mechanism, which requires a higher flow to start the meter (starting flow). The aim of this paper is to experimentally investigate metering error in an attempt to find a direct link between meter age, network pressure and apparent losses caused by…