Thermally activated structures using latent heat storage technique.

Phase change materials (PCMs) can be integrated in building structures in order to increase their heat storage capacity and thus to improve thermal comfort of occupants in light-weight buildings. The thermal capacity (thermal inertia) of thermally activated structures with PCMs can be used to even out the supply of heat in case of heat sources with variable heat outputs and also to delay the need for rejection of heat in case of space cooling. The behaviour of thermally activated building structures with integrated latent heat storage was experimentally investigated in the lab environment. The modules with a plaster layer containing microencapsulated PCM and plastic tubes for liquid heat carrier were installed on the walls ceiling and floor of a test room. A reference room with light weight building structure and an air handling unit for heating and cooling was used for comparison. The results indicate a significant influence of thermally activated heat storage modules on thermal behaviour of the test room.