Architectural Science Review

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Removing Unwanted Heat in Lightweight Buildings

Using Phase Change Materials in Building
Components: Simulation Modelling for PCM
Plasterboard

Christopher Kendrick & Nicholas Walliman

To cite this article: Christopher Kendrick & Nicholas Walliman (2007) Removing Unwanted Heat in
Lightweight Buildings Using Phase Change Materials in Building Components: Simulation Modelling
for PCM Plasterboard, Architectural Science Review, 50:3, 265-273

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3763/asre.2007.5032

Published online: 09 Jun 2011.

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 Architectural Science Review
www.earthscan.co.uk/journals/asre doi:10.3763/asre.2007.5032 Volume 50.3, pp 265-273

Removing Unwanted Heat in Lightweight

Buildings Using Phase Change Materials in
Building Components: Simulation Modelling for
PCM Plasterboard
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Christopher Kendrick and Nicholas Walliman†

Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development-Technology Group, School of the Built Environment, Oxford Brookes
University, Gipsy Lane, Headington, Oxford OX3 0PB, England
†Corresponding author: Tel: 44 (0)1865 483 644; Fax: 44 (0)1865 483 298; Email: nwalliman@brookes.ac.uk

Received 9 June 2006; accepted 14 May 2007

Abstract: Phase change materials (PCMs) can store much larger amounts of thermal energy per unit mass than conventional building
materials and can be used to add thermal stability to lightweight construction without adding physical mass. This paper reviews how
PCMs could be incorporated in building materials, particularly in passive applications. A simulation study using IES Virtual Environment
package ‘Apache’ was carried out on PCM impregnated plasterboard, investigating various fusion temperatures of the PCM during
night, day, and week-long test durations in hot weather conditions. Different ventilation rates and alternative conductivity values of the
gypsum in the plasterboard were tested. It was shown that use of PCMs has significant advantages for both commercial and residential
building applications, provided sufficient night ventilation is allowed.
Keywords: Building components, Building materials, Fusion temperature, Lightweight construction, PCM impregnated plasterboard, Phase
change materials (PCM), Plasterboard, Simulation, Thermal comfort, Thermal energy, Thermal insulation, Thermal simulation, Ventilation, Virtual
environments

Introduction
The UK government is actively encouraging higher speeds and temperatures. There is a tension between the drive to construct
standards of construction using off-site construction techniques more efficient structures with minimum environmental impact
(Prescott, 2005). In addition, the Part L Building Regulation and the tendency to add more mass (in practice concrete) for
requirements on energy efficiency and carbon, demand increasingly thermal storage.
stringent energy performance for new construction (Building Phase change materials (PCMs) can store much larger amounts of
Regulations, 2006). These factors have led to a significant shift away thermal energy per unit mass than conventional building materials
from conventional brick and block building techniques towards by storing energy as latent rather than sensible heat. Compared to
lightweight timber and steel frame construction, because it is a the amount of mass required for energy storage in a block or brick
competitive solution for new pre-fabricated building elements and building, the amount of PCMs needed is minimal. Similarly, the
tends to be more cost effective to achieve compliance with thermal energy needed to produce the PCMs would only be a fraction of
performance demands. the energy needed to produce blocks, bricks or concrete with the
However, a move to lightweight construction raises concerns same heat storage capacity (Anderson & Shires, 2002).
over internal comfort conditions due to lack of thermal storage PCMs can be used for cooling a building in three conventional
properties, resulting in rapid swings of internal temperature. This ways:
concern is exacerbated by projected climate change because of • Passive cooling: Cooling through the direct heat exchange of
global warming. Recent studies have indicated that hotter, drier indoor air with PCMs incorporated into the existing building
summers are likely. Without optimised design of new buildings, materials such as plasterboards, floorboards and furniture
many of the benefits accruing from reduced heating consumption • Assisted passive cooling: Passive cooling with an active
may be lost as air conditioning units are fitted to reduce internal component (for example, a fan) that accelerates heat exchange by
 266 Architectural Science Review Volume 50, Number 3, September 2007

increasing the air movement across the surface of the PCM
• Active cooling: Using electricity or absorption cooling to reduce
the temperature and/or change the phase of the PCM
As active cooling, and to a lesser extent supportive passive cooling,
require the use of additional energy (refrigeration and fans) it is
likely that the simplest, most cost-effective and environmentally
sound means of using PCM is in a purely passive way. Although
more research is needed to investigate if this is in fact so, the main
focus of this paper is on the use of PCMs for passive cooling.
PCMs in Building Applications
PCM can be impregnated into building materials such as
plasterboard, either directly or as impregnated pellets. Various
materials have been investigated (see Table 1). Paraffin wax,
because of its cheapness and ready availability, combined with
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applications, can be incorporated into a variety of building products,
including wallboards and insulation foams. At an experimental
stage, conventional, resistive insulation has been converted to
capacitive or dynamic insulation by addition of PCM, thus adding
thermal storage and consequent time lags where previously none was
possible. Experiments have been carried out with perlite-based loft
insulation, in which perlite is impregnated with hydrated calcium
chloride and contained between layers of conventional insulation
(Petrie, Childs, Christian & Childs, 1997). Ceiling tiles is another
possible PCM application that has been tested using monitored
test cells (University of Brighton Thermal Storage Research Group,
2006). The same group has also undertaken work on a 5mm thick
interior wall lining material containing PCM.
Recently, wall/ceiling board (plasterboard), concrete blocks
and wall/floor tiles containing micro-encapsulated PCM have
been produced commercially (Azom.com News, 2006; Hittle,

its flexibly adjustable phase change temperature is seen as a
particularly promising material for use in building components
(Amar, Kudhair & Farid, 2004; Chen, Nelson & Polanski, 1982;
Demirbas, 2006).
Another method of incorporating PCM into conventional
construction components is micro-encapsulation (Hawlander,
Uddin & Khin, 2002; Hawlander, Uddin & Zhu, 2002; Schossig,
Henning, Gschwander & Haussmann, 2005). Schossig P., Henning,
H., Gschwander, S., & Haussmann, T. (2005) describe simulation
and testing of PCM plasterboard-lined rooms, and finds notable
decreases in peak temperature in both when compared with
conventionally finished rooms. However, it is noted that the main
difficulty is night cooling, and mechanical ventilation is used at
four air changes per hour to cool the PCM. Micro-encapsulated
PCM has the appearance of beads or powder, depending upon
size. The PCM is contained within small polymer spheres (for
example ‘Thermocules’, 10 micron diameter acrylic spheres which
contain paraffin wax), increasing the area to volume ratio available
for heat transfer in PCM applications. This effectively overcomes
the problems experienced by most encapsulation systems caused
by reduced heat flux through the solid-liquid interface as it moves
away from the heat transfer surface. In addition, a wall thickness
of approximately 1 micron reduces thermal resistance of the
encapsulant to negligible proportions. This technique has been a
significant breakthrough, as it enables easy integration of organic
PCM into building components (for example, plaster, plasterboard
and concrete) whilst avoiding odour and handling problems.
Micro-encapsulated PCM, already used in some specialized
clothing such as ski wear and in some electronics cooling
2002). The phase change temperature close to the desired mean
temperature of the room aims to provide effective thermal storage
for both cooling and heating applications. The large surface
area available for heat transfer should enable effective use of this
distributed thermal mass.
Plasterboard is the most common lining material used in
lightweight timber and steel framed construction and could thus
make the biggest contribution to controlling overheating if replaced
with PCM variants. In order to test the effectiveness of PCM
plasterboard linings in reducing unwanted heat in buildings, an
effective method of simulation was devised, and a series of tests
carried out described below. The main difference from most
previous work is that real weather conditions are used rather than
fixed conditions.
Modelling PCM Impregnated Plasterboard
Dynamic thermal simulation is a powerful tool for assessing
the thermal comfort and energy use of buildings throughout
the year. However, none of the commercially available software
allows incorporation of PCM as part of the standard routine, so
additional modelling was required to assess their use in buildings.
The essential feature of PCMs is that they absorb energy as latent
rather than sensible heat over a small range of temperatures around
their melting point (fusion temperature), and hence exhibit no
sensible temperature rise over this range. The amount of heat
absorbed in this way is termed the latent heat of crystallization, and
varies with the material under consideration, as does the melting
point. The absorbed heat is released back into the space when

Table 1: Some existing PCMs that may be useful for Passive Cooling Applications.
Table 1: Some existing PCMs that may be useful for Passive Cooling Applications.
Material Phase Type of material Environmental performance
Change
Temperature
CristopiaAC00
Cristopia AC00 0¡C Water and Crystallising Agent ¥ Safe and non-toxic
(sealed plastic nodule) ¥ Low energy
Cristopia PCM-13A
Cristopia PCM-13A
13¡C Trimethylolethane (sealed plastic ¥ Safe and non-toxic
nodule) ¥ Low energy
Cristopia PCM-20 20¡C Organic Fatty Acids (sealed ¥ Natural by-product
Cristopia PCM-20 plastic nodule) ¥ Safe and non-toxic
¥ low energy
CristopiaPCM27
Cristopia PCM-27 27¡C Calcium and Potassium Chloride ¥ Corrosive, hence needs to be enclosed
Solution (sealed plastic nodule) ¥ Low energy
Various
Various 22-35¡C Paraffin Waxes ¥ By-product of the petroleum industry
manufacturers
manufacturers ¥ Low energy
 Christopher Kendrick and Nicholas Walliman Phase Change Materials for Removing Unwanted Heat in Lightweight Buildings 267
temperatures drop below the melting point. This process may be
considered fully reversible for the purposes of simulation.
The PCMs were modelled using the conditioned cavity method,
whereby a cavity is maintained at a setpoint behind the PCM
material related to the melting point of the material chosen. As
the temperature rises above the melting point, energy will be
passed into the conditioned space, the amount of energy being
monitored until all the theoretical latent heat of the material can
be accounted for. At this point, conditioning will be switched
off, allowing the temperature of the material to rise in the
normal manner. The process is reversed for solidification, the
conditioning being maintained until all latent heat contained in
the material is released back into the space, assuming temperature
differentials allow. Energy consumed in conditioning the space is
not considered in the assessment of energy use for the building,
but is used purely to simulate the phase change behaviour of
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the material used.
The limitation of the method is that it requires considerable
manual intervention to ensure correct operation of the model,
unless repetitive (design day) conditions are assumed. Energy
absorbed by and released from the conditioned space must be
recorded and the conditioning switched on or off accordingly.
Hence, as a compromise, real weather data was used, but the
simulation period was limited to the month of August (usually
the hottest month of the year) for the weather year chosen.
A simple lightweight building was represented, consisting of a
single space glazed on opposite (north/south) walls. The purpose
of the modelling is to assess the performance of PCMs in the
cooling mode during the summer. No reference is made to the
effect on heating performance and energy use. Both commercial
(office) and domestic (living room) conditions were assessed, the
main differentiating feature being the sizing and timing of heat
loads. For the office building, the effect on air conditioning
loads was also considered. The interior surfaces were modelled
with PCM impregnated plasterboard lining walls and ceiling.
The floor was modelled as standard construction.
Examined were the effects of the:
• Thermodynamic characteristics of the PCM and the wallboard
on the delivery of indoor cooling including the latent heat of
fusion of the material containing PCM
• Thermal conductivity of the wallboard containing PCM
• Provision of nighttime ventilation on the performance of the
PCM
Description of the Building Model
Whilst the building is simple in respect of geometric detail
it is sufficient to model the building thermally. However, the
model is more complex than might normally be used, since it
has been set up to assess the potential performance of a PCM
impregnated board which is not possible by defining physical
parameters describing the fusion process. The building has two
floors and section 10m x 6m. It has effectively one room on
each floor to simplify the setting up and analysis. However to
make it more thermally realistic some internal mass has been
provided by the addition of a partition wall separating the two
halves of each room.
It is a reasonable assumption that the temperature of the
wallboard will perform as a normal wallboard until the melting
point is reached and thence the temperature will remain fixed
for some period after that. This can be modelled by describing
a cooling scenario for spaces adjacent to the wallboard. In
reality, these spaces are the wall cavities and space between joists.
Normally these would be modelled by an air gap in the wall and
ceiling construction. Here the wall and ceiling constructions
have been divided into two constructions describing either side
of the air gaps.
To make the model as simple to describe as possible, the wall
cavity spaces are double height: two being described: one wraps
from the eastern face of the building and one the western face.
The glazing is described by separate window spaces, again double
height. The glazing effectively consists of an external and internal
window that are aligned and separated by a gap of 100mm. The
external windows are standard double-glazing and internal single
clear glazing. The combined effect of the two windows having
a thermal performance equivalent to those required by 2002
building regulations, the small gap separating them having the
same order of impact as a normal window reveal. The rooms
defined for the modelling are shown in Figures 1 to 4. Note
that the window rooms are 100% glazed on both south and
north faces, other surfaces (which are only 100mm thick) are
constructed of materials corresponding to their type.
The Constructions
With cavities separating rooms being defined as rooms
themselves, this required the definition of two constructions
where one would normally have been defined. The complete sets
of constructions used are defined in Table 2.
Two basic models were created:
1. A base model comprising standard plasterboard for all internal
wall and ceiling surfaces
2. All these surfaces were replaced by plasterboard impregnated
with phase change material
The table shows which constructions were used in each model
and room. The dry lined partition wall was used in both models for
the walls in the centre of the main room spaces. This could have also
Figure 1:Figure 1: Geometric
Geometric detail:
detail: main rooms.main rooms.
 268 Architectural Science Review Volume 50, Number 3, September 2007

been constructed of phase change materials (potentially improving

thermal performance) but would have further complicated the
modelling.
Thermal templates were constructed for the different types of
space: main rooms, cavities and windows. Main rooms received
heating when temperatures dropped below 19°C between the
hours of 7am and 11pm. No other spaces were heated. Internal
gains were defined for the main rooms representing occupancy,
lighting and miscellaneous electrical usage. No other spaces had
internal gains. Main rooms also had infiltration defined at 1 ac/h.
All the cavities had a cooling setpoint defined, such that the air in
the cavity could not rise above that temperature. This was how
the fusion process was modelled with the fusion temperature
represented by a cooling setpoint for the adjacent cavity. Depending
on the simulation details, this setpoint could run all day and every
day or just certain hours of a given period of days. This allowed
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different fusion temperatures to be investigated, the fusion data

being treated as generic. The baseline case of no fusion could be
modelled by defining a setpoint, which would not be reached
(40°C used in this case).
Figure 2: Geometric detail: cavity rooms.
The Case Study Environments Figure 2: Geometric detail: cavity rooms.

Two types of environment were considered:

1. Commercial (office)
2. Residential (living room)

Office Environment
A single room open plan office building of lightweight
construction was modelled. The building is rectangular in plan
with an east-west axis. North and south faces were glazed to 30%
of their areas. Walls were timber framed with brick cladding,
and the roof was modelled as ‘flat’ but of conventional sloping
roof materials. All external surfaces were insulated to Building
Regulation Part L (2002) standards.

Casual gains:
Office equipment: 8.89W/m2 from 9am to 6pm
People: 90/60W sensible/latent, 1 person
per 12.5m2 from 9am to 6pm
Lighting: 7.33W/m2 from 8am to 8pm
Figure 3: Geometric detail: ceiling rooms.
Air exchanges: Figure 3: Geometric detail: ceiling rooms.
Room infiltration: 1 air change per hour (ac/h) continuously
Night ventilation: 3 ac/h from 6pm to 6am
All windows open at 10% by area from 9am to 6pm once air
temperature exceeds 22°C.

Cavities:
Infiltration: 1 ac/h continuously

Living Room Environment

Maximum lighting: 5W/m2, Audio-Visual 6W/m2, 2 persons
Profiles: 7 days: Lighting and AV
Occupation: Mon-Fri 07.00-09.00 and 18.00-23.00,
Sat/Sun 07.00-23.00
Room infiltration: 1 air change per hour (ac/h) continuously
Night ventilation: 3 ac/h from 11pm to 7am
All windows open at 10% by area during occupied hours once
air temperature exceeds 22°C.
Figure 4: Geometric detail: window rooms.
 Christopher Kendrick and Nicholas Walliman Phase Change Materials for Removing Unwanted Heat in Lightweight Buildings 269

Table 2: Constructions used for modelling.

Phase Change Materials Table 2: Constructions used for modelling.

Construction thickness shc Conductivity Density
The type of PCM selected was mm Jkg-1K-1 Wm-1K-1 kgm-3
such as those developed by Concordia External Walls
Timber Frame wall: outside
University, Montreal, Canada during the Outside
late 1980’s and early 1990’s in their PCM Brick 100 800 0.840 1700
research projects (Athienitis, Hawes, Air 90
Banu & Feldman, 1997; Hawes, Banu Plywood 10 2500 0.150 560
Mineral Fibre Slab 75 1000 0.035 30
& Feldman, 1992; Hawes, Feldman
& Banu, 1993). Much of their work Internal Walls
focused on the use of fatty acid esters as Timber Frame wall: inside
the PCM. They used a PCM that was a Gypsum Plasterboard 13 840 0.160 950
combination of two or more fatty acids. Timber Frame wall: inside PCM impregnated
PCM impregnated wallboard 13 1100 0.190 780
By altering the proportion of different
external resistance 0.005m2KW -1
constituents, they could tailor a PCM Dry Lined Partition Wall
with a melting range most appropriate to Gypsum Plasterboard 13 840 0.160 950
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its application. The PCM was contained Air Gap 75

Gypsum Plasterboard 13 840 0.160 950
within the air pockets of gypsum
plasterboard, which typically amount to Ground Floor
40% of the volume of the board. They Standard Floor Construction (insulated to 2002 regulations)
discovered that provided concentrations London Clay 750 1000 1.410 1900
of PCM within the board did not exceed Brickwork 250 800 0.840 1700
Cast Concrete 100 1000 1.130 2000
25% the PCM would be held within Dense EPS Insulation 75 1400 0.025 30
the pores through the temperature Chipboard 25 2093 0.150 800
cycles experienced by the board in Synthetic Carpet 10 2500 0.060 160
use. Data used for the simulations was
Ceilings
obtained from this work based on 13mm Ceiling: Upper Surface
gypsum board. Office simulations Timber Flooring 15 1200 0.140 650
were based on an impregnation of Ceiling/Roof: Lower Surface
19% (providing 320kJ/m2 heat of Gypsum Plasterboard 13 840 0.160 950
Ceiling/Roof: Lower Surface (PCM Impregnated)
fusion). Residential simulations were
PCM impregnated wallboard 13 1100 0.190 780
based on an impregnation of 22% external resistance 0.005m2KW -1
(370kJ/m2 heat of fusion). The heats
of fusion corresponded to 12.65kWh Roof
and 6.11kWh for each of the rooms Sloping Roof: Outside
Clay Tiles 20 800 0.840 1900
respectively. Other values for heat of
Air Gap 10
fusion were considered in one study. Roofing Felt 5 837 0.190 960
Air Gap 800
Simulation Results Glass Fibre Quilt 230 840 0.040 12

Whilst PCMs may be useful for

all seasons, it was decided to focus on the summer period for
these studies, as this is where benefits are perceived to be greatest.
This series of studies concentrated on the month of August. The
weather data used was from Kew, recorded in 1965 (supplied as
part of the IESVE ‘Apache’ program). This period was chosen
as it is preceded by a short period of moderate temperatures in
which fusion is improbable. This ensured that the preconditioning
of the building would result in a realistic state at the start of the
evaluation period (1st August).
Assessment was largely based on the assessment of Dry Resultant
Temperature (DRT), an average of a mean air and mean radiant
temperatures, which is a close representation of the temperature as
perceived by the occupant. DRT values within the range 20-24°C
were considered desirable. Evaluation of DRT was made for the
periods of occupation. These were:
Office: 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday However, the improvements are not very significant. A high fusion
Living room: 7am to 9am and 6pm to 11pm, Monday to
Friday; 7am to 11pm Saturday and Sunday
Study 1: The Effect of Fusion Temperature on Comfort
Phase change may occur at a fixed temperature or over a
range of a few degrees. The aim of this study was to investigate
the effect of different fixed fusion temperatures on the thermal
comfort. Temperatures of 21, 22 and 23°C were chosen since it
would seem improbable that temperatures outside the comfort
range would be of benefit. 27
Note that in later sections, the abbreviations PCM21 and
PCM22 are used to denote PCM with phase change temperatures
of 21 and 22°C respectively.
According to Table 3, the base case (standard plasterboard) can
be seen to require improvement with overheating occurring for a
third of the time and over 10% of hours underheated. All cases
can be seen to level out the daily fluctuations such that both the
minimum temperatures are increased and the maximum decreased.
temperature range appears to offer little improvement in comfort
between 20 and 24°C. Improvements that are more significant
 270 Architectural Science Review Volume 50, Number 3, September 2007

Table
ble 3: Summary 3: Summary
of Resultant of (DRT)
Comfort Resultant Comfortbetween
temperatures (DRT)0900
temperatures
and 1800 for theTable 4: Summary
different of overall effect of the use of various night
between 0900 and 1800 for the different fusion temperatures
ion temperatures compared with the standard plasterboard case (no PCM). ventilation rates.
compared with the standard plasterboard case (no PCM). Table 4: Summary of overall effect of the use of various night ventilation rates.
Fusion Temperature % hours below % hours above 24¡C Air changes per % hours below % hours above % hours above
¡C 20¡C hour (Ac/h) admin! 20¡C
5/8/07 8:16 PM 24¡C 25¡C
21 6 24 0 Formatted2 Table 58 32
22 8 29 3 4 44 10
23 10 27 10 14 32 6
No PCM 11 32 0, no PCM 2 66 58

are achieved at lower fusion temperatures, 22°C giving the better
overall cooling performance.
The nature of the performance at the different temperatures is
illustrated in Figure 5. This shows the temperature fluctuation
on a hot day.
A PCM melting at 21°C shows the greatest ability to reduce air
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comfort range: this appears to give the best compromise between
cool morning temperatures and hot afternoons. A PCM melting
temperature of 22°C will be used for the majority of subsequent
investigations. However, even at an optimum temperature it would
appear necessary to incorporate an additional cooling strategy to
improve cooling significantly.

temperatures but will soon absorb all its fusion energy, allowing
subsequent temperatures to rise quickly due to the lightweight
nature of the construction when neither melting nor crystallization
is occurring.
At 22°C, fusion temperature the response is slower with less
reduction in temperatures within the room. This slower response
means that full melting is delayed by an extra couple of hours
when compared with the lower fusion temperature PCM and room
temperatures begin to drop in late afternoon. Full melting of the
PCM occurs at the end of the working day and temperatures rise
in the early evening.
The 23°C case shows an even slower response and higher
temperatures. However, in this case, the PCM does not fully melt
and the temperatures drop more progressively.
It is also worth noting that at the start of the day, only the lower
temperature PCM behaves differently to the standard board. This
is an indication that the lower temperature PCM has not fully
given up its heat of fusion: the adjacent surfaces are thus at 21°C
which prevents the space from becoming too cold at the start of
the day.
In conclusion, the best overall performance might be expected
to be achieved with a PCM operating around the mid-point of the
The working week 11-15th August proved to be significantly
hotter than other weeks in August. Indeed, for the PCM at 22°C,
this week accounted for 70% of the overheated hours. Remaining
studies will concentrate on this week.
Study 2: Night Ventilation
A common technique for low energy cooling buildings of high
thermal mass is the introduction of cold night air to induce heat
flow out of structure and into the air stream that is subsequently
extracted from the building. Night ventilation may be employed
naturally or through mechanical means. A short study was
conducted into the effect of this strategy on comfort performance.
Ventilation rates of 3 and 10 air changes per hour (ac/h) were
incorporated between 6am and 6pm, see Table 4.
Most significant is the reduction in the prevalence of very high
temperatures as indicated by the number of hours over 25°C.
Even when the PCM is crystalline at the start of the working day,
the gains on a very hot day exceed those that can be absorbed by
the PCM. Whilst the PCM is at its fusion temperature, on a very
hot day (high temperature and gains) it cannot accommodate
a temperature difference between itself and the air of under
2°C (corresponding
28 to an air temperature of 24°C) which

Hourly Variation in DRT during one hot day (11/08) for various fusion
temperatures

28
Dry Resultant Temperature (oC)

26
24
21oC
22 22oC
20 23oC
18 No PCM

16 outside

14
12
0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24
Hour Of Day

Figure 5: DRT profile for a hot day in August.

Figure 5: DRT profile for a hot day in August.
 Christopher Kendrick and Nicholas Walliman Phase Change Materials for Removing Unwanted Heat in Lightweight Buildings 271

would be necessary to ensure fully comfortable DRT 15/8

conditions. However, it can largely accommodate

32
a temperature differential of 3°C (corresponding to 30
0ach

an air temperature of 25°C). This would suggest 28

3ach

that a fusion temperature of 21°C would be more 26

10ach
0ach no pcm
suitable. The results are shown in Figure 6. 24
Outside Air

DRT
The 0 ac/h case (as Study 1) illustrates the problem 22

of not using any active means of removing the heat 20

stored during the day. The temperatures follow the 18

16
no PCM case during the evening and early morning 14
because the PCM has melted fully and is behaving 12
as normal plasterboard. It releases some heat in 96 102 108 114 120
the early hours of the morning but then starts to Hour
re-absorb heat around 9am. Having released only
one quarter of the stored heat, the PCM has fully Figure 6: DRT for 15/8 at different ventilation rates.
Figure 6: DRT for 15/8 at different ventilation rates.
melted by early afternoon and begins again to behave
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as standard plasterboard.
Cooling Load for 11-15/08 for standard wallboard and PCM impregnated
In the 3ac/h case, the night ventilation extracts
all the heat of fusion from the PCM such that it
120
has its full potential for absorbing excess heat. It PCM21
has fully melted at around 6pm by which time it is 100 PCM22

no longer necessary to cool the environment and NO PCM

Cooling Load (kWh)

80
outside air can be introduced to assist the removal
of this heat. 60
The 10ac/h case is similar to the 3ac/h case.
40
However, the heat is removed more quickly and
the high air change means that the environment 20
more closely matches the outside temperature,
0
producing an environment that is too cold in the 22 23 24
early-occupied hours. Clearly, the incorporation of Cooling Set Point
night ventilation is advantageous to the performance
of the PCM, only requiring a low air change. Over Figure 7: Cooling loads for different wallboards.
Figure 7: Cooling loads for different wallboards.
ventilation may be prevented by employing a control
mechanism. 35

Study 3: Additional Artificial Cooling
To achieve optimal comfort within an office environment, as
the previous studies indicate, it may be necessary to incorporate
some additional mechanical cooling. In Study 2, it was found
that whilst achieving significant improvement in comfort on very
hot days (measured according to the time in the 20-24°C range)
may be difficult, the cooling load appeared much reduced. Thus,
whilst an air-conditioning plant may still be required, this plant
may be smaller and use less energy.
A set of simulations were performed with air-conditioning
set-points of 22, 23 and 24°C on PCMs operating at 21 and
22°C together with standard plasterboard. According to the
modelling, it was found that PCMs operating at the same
temperature as the cooling setpoint are unlikely to be successful as
the air-conditioning ends up competing with the cooling system.
However, if in reality, PCMs are installed in the ceiling only then
this may be successful due to the stratification of temperatures
within the room.
Accordingly, a range of cooling setpoints and PCM fusion
temperatures were used and compared against the same setpoints
when the surfaces did not incorporate PCMs.
The results, as summarised in Figure 6, indicated that the
greatest benefit in reducing mechanical cooling loads is clearly
achieved by cooling to 24°C the case with a PCM of 22°C fusion
temperature (PCM22). In this case, the instantaneous peak load
was halved and the cumulative load cut to less than 20% of its
base value.
Cooling to lower temperatures will not reduce the equipment
sizing but will still give considerable benefits in energy saving (38-
54% in the simulated cases). These results are for a hot week in
which the PCM finds it more difficult to control the air temperature.
It is probable that milder days will produce even greater savings as
no additional cooling will be necessary on such days.
Study 4: Effect of Latent Heat of Fusion on Performance
All the above studies have used a latent heat of 320kJ/m2.
This is based on 19% PCM in gypsum plasterboard. PCM
percentages of up to 25% of this material have been achieved,
equivalent to 420kJ/m2. In addition, other materials will exhibit
other properties including different heats of fusion. It is clear
from previous studies that heat of fusion does have an effect on
the performance: we have seen that the value used is one which 36
whilst being sufficient in mild summer weather is stretched in
more severe conditions. The heat of fusion is of the right order
to be appropriate to this application but how flexible is this
energy level?
A short parametric study of the effect of different heats of
fusion on DRT was conducted using half and double that used in
 272 Architectural Science Review Volume 50, Number 3, September 2007

previous studies, measured over the occupied period Comfort Temperature for Living Room Model: With and Without PCM
within a hot week. It was found that the main effect
of different heats of fusion is to reduce the very high 30

temperatures (over 24°C) rather than increasing the 28

26
time within the comfort range. Double the basic
24
heat of fusion (640kJ/m2) enables all temperatures

DRT (oC)
22
to be kept below 26°C. This heat is sufficient to
20
prevent full melting of the PCM to occur on any
18
of the simulated days. However, it does not bring 16
all hours within the comfort band, an indication 14
that the heat cannot be absorbed into the PCM as 0 24 48 72 96 120 144 168
quickly as desirable. Hour Of Week : Mon 11/08 - Sun 17/08

Study 5: Effect of Thermal Conductivity of the Without PCM With PCM

Pcm/Gypsum Board Figure 8: Effect of PCM on temperature profile for residential conditions.
In all the above studies, the thermal conductivity Figure 8: Effect of PCM on temperature profile for residential conditions.
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of the PCM board has been taken as 0.19W/mK. In

addition to the fusion temperature and heat of fusion, an appropriate to that used for the office studies. The gain profile was different and
PCM is likely to be chosen on its thermal response. In the previous temperature-driven ventilation employed in the evening and early
studies, the thermal response of the PCM21 board has been better morning rather than the afternoon for weekdays. Ventilation and
than the PCM22 board as the temperature difference between the gains were set up, additionally, for the daytime, at the weekends.
air and board surface is higher. PCM22 has responded more slowly The same hot week was modelled but included the following
for this reason and, whilst having a favourable effect on comfort weekend. Results of the simulation are shown in Figure 8.
temperatures, has not been as successful as is desirable in bringing The effect of the PCM on the daytime temperatures is
temperatures below the maximum boundary used for comfort obvious, typically a reduction of 4-5°C on very hot days. Evening
assessment. A PCM board with a higher conductivity is likely to temperatures are also improved, with the lightweight building being
bring the comfort temperature down (whilst in fusion). colder only in the very late evening, at which time temperatures have
The effects of a thermal conductivity half and double the base dropped considerably. In a continuous week of hot days, the PCM
value were investigated. It was found that: clearly does not fully crystallize, so the nighttime temperatures are
• For the first day (Monday 11th August), a conductivity of quite high (typically 22°C and 3-4°C higher than the lightweight
0.4W/mK brings the peak temperatures within the comfort building. Whilst the room is modelled as a living room, not used
bounds causing a reduction of nearly 1°C in this peak. The overnight, it is possible that for a bedroom the resulting overnight
disadvantage is that the heat is absorbed more quickly and the temperatures will be higher than desirable.
PCM is fully melted earlier, creating a small rise in temperature
at the end of the day. Fortunately, this occurs too late to affect Conclusions
37
the temperatures during the occupied time and since the
temperature is dropping, the rise is not a problem. The simulations showed that a phase change temperature of
• On the next day (Tuesday 12th August), full melting occurs 22°C is best for the conditions studied, this being the mid-point
earlier due to higher solar gains/temperatures and, although of the chosen comfort band (20-24°C). Peak temperatures can be
temperatures have been kept below the maximum comfort reduced by 3-4°C, and hours over 24°C can be reduced by 80%
boundary during fusion, they rise steeply in the late afternoon. in commercial buildings with moderate heat loads.
This occurs with each of the other conductivities but is delayed Peak cooling loads can be reduced by 20-25% (cooling to
a little longer such that performance evaluated over the day is 22°C) or by 50-80% if cooling to 24°C. Cumulative plant energy
reasonably equal in each case. However, this is very much a consumption can be reduced by about 40% if cooling to 22°C or
worst-case scenario and the overall effect for this week is to 80% if cooling to 24°C during the sample week of August.
halve the overheated hours through a doubling of the thermal However, night ventilation is important to allow cooling and
conductivity. recrystallization of the PCM so that it remains able to absorb heat
during a period of hot days. Approximately 3 ac/h is adequate,
Study 6: Residential Model although higher ventilation rates may be required on warmer
The use of a PCM in a residential environment offers a different nights.
challenge due to the different usage and generally lower gains It was found that doubling the latent heat of fusion would keep
compared to an office environment. The effect of any type of temperatures lower, but that the PCM would not be fully melted
thermally massive construction is to level out the daily temperature on hot days. The amount of PCM used in wallboards therefore
variation, and delay the peak temperatures, so that rather than these needs to be matched to the projected cooling need of the particular
occurring in the mid-afternoon they occur in the early evening. room as well as its heat of fusion.
This could potentially make the building hotter in the evening than Doubling thermal conductivity reduced peak temperatures by
for a lightweight building of standard construction. a further 1°C and halved the hours over 24°C. However, a high
A series of simulations was made of a room within a building of thermal conductivity can allow premature melting, leading to
similar construction and geometry but of a smaller size (4m x 4m) temperature rises later in the day.
 Christopher Kendrick and Nicholas Walliman Phase Change Materials for Removing Unwanted Heat in Lightweight Buildings 273
The main limit to performance is the heat transfer between the
air in the space and the surface of the material containing PCM.
This could be enhanced by creating air movement with fans
PCM is effective for residential buildings, reducing peak
temperatures by 4-5°C, and hours over 24°C by 90%. Thermal
stability of lightweight buildings is also increased, reducing
temperature swings from around 10°C to 4°C in the case studied.
However, the resulting higher overnight internal temperatures (3-
4°C) may not be desirable for bedrooms. It may be that use of PCM
building materials be restricted to rooms used during the daytime
and early evening, allowing lighter construction to be retained for
bedrooms where it appears to be advantageous.
Overall, it can be concluded that the use of PCM impregnated
plasterboard has significant advantages for both commercial
and residential building applications, provided sufficient night
ventilation is allowed. Although the most likely market is initially
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for commercial buildings, where use of PCM can improve thermal
comfort levels and obviate or reduce the need for air-conditioning,
with the increasing use of lightweight construction for homes,
particularly in modular and volumetric construction, PCM is
likely to become a valuable tool for improving thermal comfort
in domestic buildings.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the following for their assistance:
Steffie Broer, ESD; Kees Stap, Ecofys UK; Paul Tickner, Cristopia UK;
Evangelos Kounavis, Kajima Construction Europe; Andrew Thorne,
Building Research Establishment; and Funding from the Energy Efficiency
Best Practice Programme.
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