Phase Change Materials (PCMs) to Optimise Thermal Mass

Baudoin, Gilles [UCL] Van Moeseke, Geoffrey [UCL]

PCMs provide another lever for action to optimise thermal mass. They give indeed the possibility to increase effective thermal mass on a given temperature range. Heat is absorbed when the material changes from solid to liquid and is released when it changes from liquid to solid. This opens the door to combine the benefits of lightweight and heavyweight buildings. The main idea of the research is to evaluate the potential benefits of using PCMs in terms of energy consumption and comfort and to explore the concept of an optimal thermal mass. This poster presents the first results of a case study concerning the simulation of a highly efficient test-cell based on state-of-the-art office building design. This research project has been funded by FEDER and Wallonia in the framework of the operational programme Wallonie-2020.EU