Preparation, thermal performance and application of shape-stabilized PCM in energy efficient buildings

Shape-stabilized phase change material (PCM) is a kind of novel PCM. It has the following salient features: large apparent specific heat for phase change temperature region, suitable thermal conductivity, keeping shape stabilized in the phase change process and no need for containers. The preparation for such kind material was investigated and its thermophysical properties were measured. Some applications of such material in energy efficient buildings (e.g., in electric under floor space heating system, in wallboard or floor to absorb solar energy to narrow the temperature swing of a day in winter) were studied. Some models of analyzing the thermal performance of the systems were developed, which were validated with the experiments. The following conclusions are obtained: (1) the applications of the novel PCM we put forward are of promising perspectives in some climate regions; (2) by using different paraffin, the melting temperature of shape-stabilized PCM can be adjusted; (3) the heat of fusion of it is in the range of 62–138 kJ kg−1; (4) for PCM floor or wallboard to absorb solar energy to narrow the temperature swing in a day in winter, the suitable melting temperature of PCM should be a little higher than average indoor air temperature of the room without PCM for the period of sunshine; (5) for the electric under-floor space heating system, the optimal melting temperature can be determined by simulation; (6) PCM layer used in the aforementioned application should not be thicker than 2 cm; (7) the models developed by us are helpful for applications of shape-stabilized PCM in buildings.