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Enhancing indoor thermal comfort and energy efficiency: A comparative study of RC-PCM Trombe wall performance

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  • Liu, Huifang
  • Tan, Qianli
  • Shi, Ying
  • Yu, Bendong
  • Zhang, Mingyi

Abstract

In response to the issue of excessive heating during summer in traditional Trombe walls, this study proposes a novel system called RC-PCM Trombe walls, which utilizes radiation cooling and phase change materials (PCMs) to traditional Trombe walls. The thermal performances of RC-PCM Trombe wall, conventional Trombe wall, and PCM Trombe wall were compared and studied under summer conditions. The experimental results demonstrate that the addition of heat pipes and radiant cooling devices to the RC-PCM Trombe wall led to a reduction of peak temperatures on the inner surface of the south wall by 3 °C and 1.2 °C, respectively. Furthermore, the time taken to reach the peak temperature was delayed by 43 min and 38 min, respectively. The standard deviations of indoor air temperature were reduced by 0.04 °C and 0.29 °C, while the indoor heat gain was reduced by 26.5 % and 55.2 %, respectively. These findings indicate that the RC-PCM Trombe wall effectively mitigates indoor overheating and enhances the indoor thermal environment during the summer.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Huifang & Tan, Qianli & Shi, Ying & Yu, Bendong & Zhang, Mingyi, 2024. "Enhancing indoor thermal comfort and energy efficiency: A comparative study of RC-PCM Trombe wall performance," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:227:y:2024:i:c:s0960148124006074
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2024.120542
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Ju, Hengjin & Li, Xiangli & Chang, Chang & Zhou, Wenqian & Wang, Gang & Tong, Cang, 2024. "Heating performance of PCM radiant floor coupled with horizontal ground source heat pump for single-family house in cold zones," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    3. Sun, Xueying & Zheng, Wenke & Feng, Kang & Li, Jiaxiang & Zheng, Ziqiang & Ke, Menglian & Jiang, Yiqiang & Hu, Bei & Qiu, Shanshan & Liu, Jing, 2025. "Experimental study on a passive dome containment cooling system using heat pipe technology: Effect of heat pipe structure," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 330(C).
    4. Shi, Ying & Liu, Huifang & Yu, Bendong & Li, Niansi, 2025. "A novel PCM-heat pipe composite trombe wall for summer thermal performance optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 341(C).
    5. Yang, Kun & Huo, Ziyu & Du, Na & Li, Jiaxuan & Chai, Yufei & Chen, Yuzhu, 2025. "Experimental investigation of the performance of an innovative delignified wood-based phase change roof integrated with sky radiation cooling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 325(C).
    6. Cao, Xuhui & Wei, Wei & Wang, Weikai & Ji, Jie & Yu, Bendong & Li, Niansi, 2025. "Energy and exergy analysis of a photocatalytic Trombe wall based on visible-light photocatalytic purification," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    7. Chen, Xing-ni & Gan, Wen-tao & Shen, Zi-qing & Xu, Bin & Pei, Gang, 2025. "Thermal performance analysis of a double-channel phase change slurry Trombe wall with seasonal switching, solar energy storage and utilization," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    8. Kai Jiao & Lin Lu & Liang Zhao & Gang Wang, 2024. "Towards Passive Building Thermal Regulation: A State-of-the-Art Review on Recent Progress of PCM-Integrated Building Envelopes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-27, July.
    9. Shen, Yongliang & Chen, Hongkuan & Liu, Shuli & Ji, Wenjie & Jin, Haibo & Khan, Sheher Yar & Kumar, Mahesh & Mazhar, Abdur Rehman, 2024. "Analysis of influencing factors on the performance of wavy-shape solar trombe walls based on orthogonal experimental design and simulation methods," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    10. Hu, Zhongting & Liu, Ruifeng & Li, Kaijie & Wang, Zijun & Gu, Keying & He, Wei, 2025. "Performance analysis and design optimization of a novel Trombe wall system using CFD and response surface method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).

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