Volume 61

A Pilot Experimental Study on the Thermal Performance of PCM-Enhanced Building Envelopes Pengju Liu, Bokai Liu1, Ou Han, Hongxia Zhou, Anjan Rao Puttige, Gireesh Nair, Weizhuo Lu, Thomas Olofsson

Abstract

Enhancing energy efficiency in the building sector is vital for climate change mitigation. Phase change materials (PCM), known for their high latent heat storage capacity during phase transitions, offer promising potential in regulating indoor temperatures and reducing dependence on HVAC systems. This study presents a preliminary experimental investigation into the thermal performance of wallboards enhanced with PCM under subarctic conditions in Umeå, Sweden. Four types of wallboards were tested: a conventional gypsum board, a commercial PCM board (cPCM), and two lab-fabricated boards with 60% and 82% microencapsulated PCM by mass (mPCM60 and mPCM82). Thermal properties of the PCM were characterized using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), confirming high latent heat capacity and thermal stability. In a field setup, surface temperatures were monitored to assess thermal buffering capacity. Results show lower temperature fluctuations in the mPCM82 and mPCM60 wallboards, indicating enhanced thermal performance of the envelope compared to the gypsum board. However, the thermal performance of cPCM was even worse than gypsum, which could be attributed to the observed material settlement. These findings suggest the potential of PCM-enhanced wallboards to improve indoor thermal comfort and energy performance, while also emphasizing the importance of material selection and design in practical applications.

Keywords energy efficiency, phase change materials (PCM), indoor environment, building envelopes