Using phase change materials for residential air conditioning peak demand reduction and energy conservation in coastal and transitional climates in the State of California

The recent rapid economic and population growth in the State of California have led to a significant increase in air conditioning use, especially in areas of the State with coastal and transitional climates. This fact makes the electric peak demand to be dominated by air conditioning use in buildings during the summer time. However, this extra peak demand caused by the use of air conditioning equipment lasts only a few days out of the year. As a result, avoidable power outages occur when power utilities do not keep up with such demand. This paper proposes a possible solution to this problem by using building thermal mass via phase change materials to reduce peak air conditioning demand loads. This proposed solution was tested using a wall herein referred to as phase change frame wall (PCFW). The PCFW is a typical residential frame wall in which Phase Change Materials (PCMs) were integrated to add thermal mass. The thermal performance of PCFWs using a hydrated salt PCM was evaluated via computer simulations of residential buildings located in coastal and transitional climates in California. Simulated results indicated that the PCFWs would reduce the space cooling load by an average of 10.4%.