LCA perspective to assess the environmental impact of a novel PCM-based cold storage unit for the civil air conditioning

The environmental footprint that considers the material and the energy to fabricate the ColdPeak is very low if compared with the amount of energy saved thanks to its application. As a matter of fact, the LCA study reports that the integration of the cold storage unit allows a significant reduction of environmental footprint in terms of Global Warming Potential (−17%), Acidification Potential (−15.5%), Eutrophication Potential (−18%), Eco-toxicity (−16%), Human Health (−18%) and Fossil Depletion (−18%). The paper also reports the temporal trend of the environmental footprint that shows a pay-back period for the construction of the innovative integrated system of less than one year for all the investigated categories.