Energy reduction of building air-conditioner with phase change material in Thailand

In this study, a concept of using phase change material (PCM) for improving cooling efficiency of an air-conditioner had been presented under Thai climate. Paraffin waxes melting point at around 20 °C was selected to evaluate the thermal performance by reducing the air temperature entering the evaporating coil. The model of PCM celluloid balls had been performed with the air-conditioner. Moreover, the mathematical model of the air-conditioner with the PCM storage was developed and verified with the testing results. From the study results, it could be seen that the simulated data agreed quite well with the experimental result at the discrepant around 2–4%. Finally, the model was used to analyze the economic result which was found that the electrical consumption of the modified air-conditioner could be decreased 3.09 kW h/d. The electrical power consumption of the modified unit was 36.27 kW h/d at the operating time 15 h/d compared with 39.36 kW h/d of the normal unit at the operating time 12 h/d. The saving cost of the PCM bed could be 9.10% or 170.03 USD and the payback period was 4.15 y.