Experimental Study on the Use of Enhanced Coconut Oil and Paraffin Wax Phase Change Material in Active Heating Using Advanced Modular Prototype

Abstract

The use of phase change materials in buildings as a thermal energy storage system gained the attention of researchers all over the world. In the current study, coconut oil bio-based PCM is macro-encapsulated with enhanced thermal conductivity containers and coupled with hydronic radiant floor heating system. The study follows experimental aspect utilizing two identical small scale modular test prototypes. Investigations are directed toward studying the effect of the active CO-PCM system under different weather conditions, effect of combining active and passive systems, effect of PCM choice/type and effect of PCM location within the active floor, on the thermal and energy storage performances. Results revealed that coupling CO-PCM to active floor, passive wall and passive roof is capable of achieving load shifting and energy savings; and is affected by the control method, weather conditions, electricity tariff policy and PCM position and type. Further discussions, conclusions and perspective recommendations are summarized within the article. Highlights Identical experimental advanced modular prototypes are designed and implemented.  Macro-encapsulation technique using enhanced thermal conductivity containers.  Thermal comfort and temperature fluctuations reduction using CO and PW PCMs.  Load shifting by combined CO-PCM applications leads to possible annual cost saving.  Positioning CO-PCM plates below heating layer ensued energy saving of 393.5 kWh.

Multiple Heat Recovery System for an Industrial Thermal Peeling Press Machine—Experimental Study with Energy and Economic Analyses

“…The temperature T in • C is the most influential and significant parameter in the research. K-type thermocouples are used to monitor temperatures at various locations inside the prototypes with an accuracy of ±1.5 • C and a resolution of 0.25, as stated by the manufacturer [18]. Temperature data is captured at 10 s intervals by using the PA Hilton data to collect device and associated HDL software.…”

“…Nonetheless, as concerns regarding carbon dioxide emissions and global warming have grown, efforts have been made to reduce the environmental impact of space heating and cooling through the development and implementation of renewable energy sources. Energy research is actually moving in the direction of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption worldwide [1,[18][19][20]. Renewable energy and energy management can primarily contribute to this goal [21].…”

Phase change materials in building integrated space heating and domestic hot water applications: A review

“…Also, the room heating period was enhanced by 53.7 % with PCM. Furthermore, the economic analysis of the system for climatic conditions of Lebanon revealed that the system can achieve an annual energy cost reduction of 58.9 % [132].…”

Effect on the Thermal Properties of Building Mortars with Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials for Radiant Floors

“…Furthermore, Sun et al [21] developed PCMs with different melting points and designed a double-layer radiant floor system to regulate indoor thermal comfort throughout the year. Faraj et al [30] designed a simulation chamber and employed an accurate heating-cooling control system to derive the optimal location for PCM bonding. Moreover, Heng et al [31] incorporated the HRFHS and an air source heat pump (ASHP) to analyze the thermal reaction for complete melting and solidification of the PCM layer.…”

“…Reviewing the literature indicates that for active thermal energy storage systems (ATES) in the RFHS, the application of a PCM is mainly focused on experimental studies, with an emphasis on the use of PCM materials in adjusting the temperature and encapsulating and embedding the PCMs in certain locations [21,25,29,30,32,34,37], floor construction and thickness optimization [28][29][30]33,36,38], and heating systems such as adjusting the temperature and flowrate of the supply water [21,27,31,39]. Portland cement is mainly used as a thermal storage cementitious material in ATES [27,[40][41][42][43].…”