Effect of PCM in Improving the Thermal Comfort in Buildings

A thermal dynamic simulation was realized with the TRNSYS 17 software, using type 204, to compare the thermal behaviour of an office having conventional walls with another office having walls incorporating phase change materials (PCMs). The simulation was performed for the climate zone of Algiers (Algeria), on a top floor office, 3.5 m length, 3 m wide and 3 m high. The simulation results showed that the use of phase change materials in the concrete ceiling and the hollow brick walls has increased the office temperature by 3 to 4 °C in the winter period. The results also show that the presence of the phase change materials in the walls reduced the overheating in the summer period, decreasing the indoors air temperature by 7 °C.