Energy and economic analysis of a building air-conditioner with a phase change material (PCM)

In this study, a concept of using phase change material (PCM) for improving cooling efficiency of an air-conditioner had been presented under Thailand climate. Rubitherm20 (RT-20) 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. For the experiment, 2 TR of R-134a air-conditioner was chosen to test a pack bed of PCM balls with thickness 40 cm. The pressure drops of the air flowing through the bed were considered with and without a set of by-pass tubes along the height of the storage bed. 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 pressure drops of the bed with and without bypass tubes were nearly the same results. Thus, PCM ball pack bed using RT-20 without bypass tubes was used to improve the cooling efficiency of the air-conditioner. The experimental result of the modified unit was compared and verified with the mathematical model, which agreed quite well with the simulation result. Finally, the model was used to analyze the economic result, which found that the electrical consumption of the modified air-conditioner could be decreased around 3.09 kW h/d. The saving cost from the PCM bed could be 9.10% of 170.03 USD/y and the payback period was around 4.15 y.