Effect of phase change material integration in clay hollow brick composite in building envelope for thermal management of energy efficient buildings

The present trend in building research is to improve sustainability in building construction and operation. The development of new renewable technologies is essential to improve the sustainability and to reduce emissions. The incorporation of phase change materials in buildings is an effective way to reduce the room temperature fluctuations and cooling loads/heating loads. Although several works have been carried out in this field, a novel phase change material clay hollow-brick composite has been used in this work. This article discusses the research on investigating the thermal performance of phase change material integration in building walls. Two identical test rooms (3 m × 3 m × 3.65 m) were constructed to study the effect of phase change material integration in buildings. The experimental buildings were constructed for the warm and humid weather conditions of Chennai city, India. Phase change material integration in the building wall is beneficial for reduction of room temperature and provides passive cooling of the building. The temperature drop in a phase change material room compared with a non-phase change material room varies from 6°C to 2°C, during various months of the year. DESIGNBUILDER simulation was carried out for phase change material and non-phase change material buildings during the months of January, March, May, and July. The simulated room temperature variation follows the same pattern in these months.