Advances in phase change building materials: An overview

Abstract

Efficient and sustainable thermal management of buildings is critical since the building sector is considered as the largest energy contributor contributing around 40% of the total energy consumption which is responsible for about 38% of greenhouse gas emission. Utilisation of phase-change material (PCM) in building energy systems can enhance the overall energy performance of buildings, thereby making drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The major shortcoming of organic PCM is their leakage problem; however, this can be overcome through the employment of either encapsulation or shape stabilisation technology. Numerous papers have prepared unlimited number of form stable PCMs for various applications ranging from textiles to thermal energy storage (TES); however, the factors to consider when selecting PCM for an intended application are not clear and the influence of synthesis techniques and processing parameters on the performance of stabilised PCM is yet to be understood. Also, majority of the publications have focused mainly on the encapsulation of paraffins for TES by employing different encapsulation techniques. Therefore, selecting a suitable technique for the synthesis of form stable PCM is the most challenging. This review aims at providing a comprehensive database addressing these issues, focusing mainly on PCMs, processing techniques, performance of encapsulated and composite PCMs, and phase change building materials prepared in previous studies, since this is the most critical information required to widen the potential usage of PCM technology in building applications. A concise summary of environmentally friendly poly(ethylene glycol)-based composite PCMs is also included.