IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v238y2019icp1582-1595.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy saving performance assessment and lessons learned from the operation of an active phase change materials system in a multi-storey building in Melbourne

Author

Listed:
  • Alam, Morshed
  • Zou, Patrick X.W.
  • Sanjayan, Jay
  • Ramakrishnan, Sayanthan

Abstract

While the energy saving performance of an active phase change materials (PCMs) system in buildings has been widely investigated using prototype-scale experiments and numerical assessments, their performance during the operational phase of a real building has been less understood. This study assessed the energy-saving performance of an active PCM system installed in an eleven storey building in Melbourne. Macro-encapsulated PCM with the phase transition temperature of 15 °C was installed in a large PCM tank. Water was used as the heat transfer fluid (HTF) to extract and store cooling energy from the PCM tank. The performance of the active PCM system was monitored for 25 consecutive months, and the results were analyzed on a seasonal basis. Building design documents and the maintenance manuals were studied to understand the difference between design intent and actual operation. The analyzed results revealed that the active PCM system reduced cooling load on the chiller by 12–37% only during colder months, but, remained dormant during the summer. Even in the case of maximum effectiveness, the PCM tank only utilized 15% of its available heat storage capacity to reduce the cooling load. The factors that contributed to the underperformance of active PCM system include mismatch between designed and actual operation of the PCM system, inefficient operation logic of the system, poor material quality, and limited knowledge of maintenance staffs during the operation stage. The lessons learned from the operation of this active PCM system in this multi-storey building were reported and discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Alam, Morshed & Zou, Patrick X.W. & Sanjayan, Jay & Ramakrishnan, Sayanthan, 2019. "Energy saving performance assessment and lessons learned from the operation of an active phase change materials system in a multi-storey building in Melbourne," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1582-1595.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:238:y:2019:i:c:p:1582-1595
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.01.116
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261919301175
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.01.116?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ascione, Fabrizio & Bianco, Nicola & De Masi, Rosa Francesca & de’ Rossi, Filippo & Vanoli, Giuseppe Peter, 2014. "Energy refurbishment of existing buildings through the use of phase change materials: Energy savings and indoor comfort in the cooling season," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 990-1007.
    2. Ramakrishnan, Sayanthan & Sanjayan, Jay & Wang, Xiaoming & Alam, Morshed & Wilson, John, 2015. "A novel paraffin/expanded perlite composite phase change material for prevention of PCM leakage in cementitious composites," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 85-94.
    3. Zhou, D. & Zhao, C.Y. & Tian, Y., 2012. "Review on thermal energy storage with phase change materials (PCMs) in building applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 593-605.
    4. Ramakrishnan, Sayanthan & Wang, Xiaoming & Sanjayan, Jay & Wilson, John, 2017. "Thermal performance assessment of phase change material integrated cementitious composites in buildings: Experimental and numerical approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 654-664.
    5. Ramakrishnan, Sayanthan & Wang, Xiaoming & Sanjayan, Jay & Wilson, John, 2017. "Thermal performance of buildings integrated with phase change materials to reduce heat stress risks during extreme heatwave events," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 410-421.
    6. Rouault, Fabien & Bruneau, Denis & Sebastian, Patrick & Lopez, Jérôme, 2013. "Numerical modelling of tube bundle thermal energy storage for free-cooling of buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 1099-1106.
    7. Kuznik, Frédéric & Virgone, Joseph & Johannes, Kevyn, 2011. "In-situ study of thermal comfort enhancement in a renovated building equipped with phase change material wallboard," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 1458-1462.
    8. Iten, Muriel & Liu, Shuli & Shukla, Ashish, 2016. "A review on the air-PCM-TES application for free cooling and heating in the buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 175-186.
    9. Waqas, Adeel & Ud Din, Zia, 2013. "Phase change material (PCM) storage for free cooling of buildings—A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 607-625.
    10. Yuan, Yanping & Gao, Xiangkui & Wu, Hongwei & Zhang, Zujin & Cao, Xiaoling & Sun, Liangliang & Yu, Nanyang, 2017. "Coupled cooling method and application of latent heat thermal energy storage combined with pre-cooling of envelope: Method and model development," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 817-833.
    11. Devaux, Paul & Farid, Mohammed Mehdi, 2017. "Benefits of PCM underfloor heating with PCM wallboards for space heating in winter," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 593-602.
    12. Silva, Tiago & Vicente, Romeu & Amaral, Cláudia & Figueiredo, António, 2016. "Thermal performance of a window shutter containing PCM: Numerical validation and experimental analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 64-84.
    13. Barzin, Reza & Chen, John J.J. & Young, Brent R. & Farid, Mohammed M., 2015. "Application of PCM underfloor heating in combination with PCM wallboards for space heating using price based control system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 39-48.
    14. Sun, Xiaoqin & Zhang, Quan & Medina, Mario A. & Liao, Shuguang, 2015. "Performance of a free-air cooling system for telecommunications base stations using phase change materials (PCMs): In-situ tests," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 325-334.
    15. Lee, Kyoung Ok & Medina, Mario A. & Raith, Erik & Sun, Xiaoqin, 2015. "Assessing the integration of a thin phase change material (PCM) layer in a residential building wall for heat transfer reduction and management," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 699-706.
    16. Du, Kun & Calautit, John & Wang, Zhonghua & Wu, Yupeng & Liu, Hao, 2018. "A review of the applications of phase change materials in cooling, heating and power generation in different temperature ranges," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 242-273.
    17. Shukla, Anant & Buddhi, D. & Sawhney, R.L., 2008. "Thermal cycling test of few selected inorganic and organic phase change materials," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(12), pages 2606-2614.
    18. Moreno, Pere & Solé, Cristian & Castell, Albert & Cabeza, Luisa F., 2014. "The use of phase change materials in domestic heat pump and air-conditioning systems for short term storage: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 1-13.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bayram, Muhammed & Ustaoglu, Abid & Kursuncu, Bilal & Hekimoglu, Gokhan & Sari, Ahmet & Uğur, Latif Onur & Subasi, Serkan & Gencel, Osman & Ozbakkaloglu, Togay, 2024. "3D-printed polylactic acid-microencapsulated phase change material composites for building thermal management," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    2. Hongzhi Cui & Jiaxin Shi & Haixing Li & Xiong Xiao & Peng Peng & Xiaohua Bao, 2023. "Experimental Study on Thermo-Mechanical Behavior of a Novel Energy Pile with Phase Change Materials Using Fiber Bragg Grating Monitoring," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-26, December.
    3. Xie, Xing & Xu, Bin & Chen, Xing-ni & Pei, Gang, 2021. "Turning points emerging in the effect of thermal conductivity of phase change materials on utilization rate of latent heat in buildings," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1522-1536.
    4. Wang, Guangyao & Ha, Dong Sam & Wang, Kevin G., 2019. "A scalable environmental thermal energy harvester based on solid/liquid phase-change materials," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 1468-1480.
    5. Kishor T. Zingre & Kiran Kumar D. E. V. S. & Man Pun Wan, 2020. "Analysing the Effect of Substrate Properties on Building Envelope Thermal Performance in Various Climates," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-8, October.
    6. Xu, Bin & Xie, Xing & Pei, Gang & Chen, Xing-ni, 2020. "New view point on the effect of thermal conductivity on phase change materials based on novel concepts of relative depth of activation and time rate of activation: The case study on a top floor room," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    7. Yu, Kunyang & Liu, Yushi & Yang, Yingzi, 2021. "Review on form-stable inorganic hydrated salt phase change materials: Preparation, characterization and effect on the thermophysical properties," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    8. Panchabikesan, Karthik & Joybari, Mahmood Mastani & Haghighat, Fariborz & Ramalingam, Velraj & Ding, Yulong, 2020. "Feasibility study on the year-round operation of PCM based free cooling systems in tropical climatic conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    9. Rostami, Sara & Afrand, Masoud & Shahsavar, Amin & Sheikholeslami, M. & Kalbasi, Rasool & Aghakhani, Saeed & Shadloo, Mostafa Safdari & Oztop, Hakan F., 2020. "A review of melting and freezing processes of PCM/nano-PCM and their application in energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    10. Chen, Weicheng & Liu, Yangxi & Liang, Xianghui & Luo, Fan & Liao, Tingting & Wang, Shuangfeng & Gao, Xuenong & Zhang, Zhengguo & Fang, Yutang, 2023. "Experimental and numerical investigations on radiant floor heating system integrated with macro-encapsulated phase change material," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    11. Tan, Pepe & Lindberg, Patrik & Eichler, Kaia & Löveryd, Per & Johansson, Pär & Kalagasidis, Angela Sasic, 2020. "Thermal energy storage using phase change materials: Techno-economic evaluation of a cold storage installation in an office building," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    12. Tadeusz Kuczyński & Anna Staszczuk & Piotr Ziembicki & Anna Paluszak, 2021. "The Effect of the Thermal Mass of the Building Envelope on Summer Overheating of Dwellings in a Temperate Climate," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.
    13. Ait Laasri, Imad & Es-sakali, Niima & Charai, Mouatassim & Mghazli, Mohamed Oualid & Outzourhit, Abdelkader, 2024. "Recent progress, limitations, and future directions of macro-encapsulated phase change materials for building applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nie, Binjian & Palacios, Anabel & Zou, Boyang & Liu, Jiaxu & Zhang, Tongtong & Li, Yunren, 2020. "Review on phase change materials for cold thermal energy storage applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    2. Zeinelabdein, Rami & Omer, Siddig & Gan, Guohui, 2018. "Critical review of latent heat storage systems for free cooling in buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 2843-2868.
    3. Lamrani, B. & Johannes, K. & Kuznik, F., 2021. "Phase change materials integrated into building walls: An updated review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    4. Nie, Binjian & She, Xiaohui & Du, Zheng & Xie, Chunping & Li, Yongliang & He, Zhubing & Ding, Yulong, 2019. "System performance and economic assessment of a thermal energy storage based air-conditioning unit for transport applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C), pages 1-1.
    5. Lizana, Jesús & Chacartegui, Ricardo & Barrios-Padura, Angela & Ortiz, Carlos, 2018. "Advanced low-carbon energy measures based on thermal energy storage in buildings: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3705-3749.
    6. Du, Kun & Calautit, John & Wang, Zhonghua & Wu, Yupeng & Liu, Hao, 2018. "A review of the applications of phase change materials in cooling, heating and power generation in different temperature ranges," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 242-273.
    7. Liu, Jiang & Liu, Yan & Yang, Liu & Liu, Tang & Zhang, Chen & Dong, Hong, 2020. "Climatic and seasonal suitability of phase change materials coupled with night ventilation for office buildings in Western China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P1), pages 356-373.
    8. Akeiber, Hussein & Nejat, Payam & Majid, Muhd Zaimi Abd. & Wahid, Mazlan A. & Jomehzadeh, Fatemeh & Zeynali Famileh, Iman & Calautit, John Kaiser & Hughes, Ben Richard & Zaki, Sheikh Ahmad, 2016. "A review on phase change material (PCM) for sustainable passive cooling in building envelopes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1470-1497.
    9. Barzin, Reza & Chen, John J.J. & Young, Brent R. & Farid, Mohammed M., 2015. "Application of PCM energy storage in combination with night ventilation for space cooling," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 412-421.
    10. Saffari, Mohammad & de Gracia, Alvaro & Ushak, Svetlana & Cabeza, Luisa F., 2017. "Passive cooling of buildings with phase change materials using whole-building energy simulation tools: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1239-1255.
    11. Ioan Sarbu & Calin Sebarchievici, 2018. "A Comprehensive Review of Thermal Energy Storage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-32, January.
    12. Faraj, Khaireldin & Khaled, Mahmoud & Faraj, Jalal & Hachem, Farouk & Castelain, Cathy, 2020. "Phase change material thermal energy storage systems for cooling applications in buildings: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    13. Enghok Leang & Pierre Tittelein & Laurent Zalewski & Stéphane Lassue, 2020. "Impact of a Composite Trombe Wall Incorporating Phase Change Materials on the Thermal Behavior of an Individual House with Low Energy Consumption," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-32, September.
    14. Ramakrishnan, Sayanthan & Wang, Xiaoming & Sanjayan, Jay & Wilson, John, 2017. "Thermal performance assessment of phase change material integrated cementitious composites in buildings: Experimental and numerical approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 654-664.
    15. Kahwaji, Samer & Johnson, Michel B. & Kheirabadi, Ali C. & Groulx, Dominic & White, Mary Anne, 2018. "A comprehensive study of properties of paraffin phase change materials for solar thermal energy storage and thermal management applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 1169-1182.
    16. Gholamibozanjani, Gohar & Farid, Mohammed, 2020. "A comparison between passive and active PCM systems applied to buildings," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 112-123.
    17. Lei, Jiawei & Yang, Jinglei & Yang, En-Hua, 2016. "Energy performance of building envelopes integrated with phase change materials for cooling load reduction in tropical Singapore," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 207-217.
    18. Rostami, Sara & Afrand, Masoud & Shahsavar, Amin & Sheikholeslami, M. & Kalbasi, Rasool & Aghakhani, Saeed & Shadloo, Mostafa Safdari & Oztop, Hakan F., 2020. "A review of melting and freezing processes of PCM/nano-PCM and their application in energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    19. Wu, Minqiang & Li, Tingxian & He, Qifan & Du, Ruxue & Wang, Ruzhu, 2022. "Thermally conductive and form-stable phase change composite for building thermal management," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PA).
    20. Gohar Gholamibozanjani & Mohammed Farid, 2021. "A Critical Review on the Control Strategies Applied to PCM-Enhanced Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-39, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:238:y:2019:i:c:p:1582-1595. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.