Energies, Vol. 18, Pages 5720: Numerical Analysis of Thermal Performance of PCM-Containing Honeycomb Wallboard for Building Energy Harvesting

Energies, Vol. 18, Pages 5720: Numerical Analysis of Thermal Performance of PCM-Containing Honeycomb Wallboard for Building Energy Harvesting

Energies doi: 10.3390/en18215720

Authors:
Yifan Zhang
Yusheng Yang
Lei Zhou
Gang Lei
Zhenhua Wei
Liangliang Zhang

This study investigates a wallboard integrating encapsulated phase change materials (PCMs) within aluminum honeycomb cells to reduce building energy consumption. The thermal performance of a concrete wall enhanced with this PCM-honeycomb composite was evaluated under varying weather conditions through a two-dimensional heat transfer model. The thermal improvement of PCM is revealed in a comparative analysis of three distinct building envelope materials, i.e., concrete, concrete covered by the honeycomb wallboard, and concrete covered by the honeycomb wallboard containing PCMs. The results demonstrated that the PCM-honeycomb wallboard effectively delays and reduces peak cooling loads. The proposed system lowered building energy consumption by 28.46% and 32.12% in energy consumption over the entire summer season (and 5.76% and 6.27% over one year), respectively, compared to these reference cases. Among the tested PCMs, RT25 was identified as the most effective. The results confirm that incorporating PCM-infused honeycomb wallboards into building envelopes is a viable strategy for passive, year-round temperature regulation.