A numerical and experimental study of a cellular passive solar façade system for building thermal control

About 39% of total energy in the United States is consumed in residential and commercial buildings. Passive Solar Design (PSD) strategies have been successful in reducing building energy consumption, however, they require a substantial design effort for each individual project and are also difficult to implement in building retrofit projects. These characteristics tend to inhibit the widespread use of PSD principles in buildings today. In this paper a building envelop system is presented that incorporates small air cells backed by phase change material. The goal is to achieve quasi-constant core temperatures within a building enclosure system. The proposed technology results in a cladding system that can be used to thermally condition buildings. Initial experimental and numerical research efforts show that the system has significant potential to function properly when exposed to winter conditions. While initial results are promising, the system will require dynamic response to function properly in both winter and summer conditions.