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Phase Change Materials for Reducing Cooling Energy Demand and Improving Indoor Comfort: A Step-by-Step Retrofit of a Mediterranean Educational Building

Author

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  • Fabrizio Ascione

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli (NA), Italy)

  • Nicola Bianco

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli (NA), Italy)

  • Rosa Francesca De Masi

    (Department of Engineering, Università degli Studi del Sannio, Piazza Roma 21, 82100 Benevento (BN), Italy)

  • Margherita Mastellone

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli (NA), Italy)

  • Giuseppe Peter Vanoli

    (Department of Medicine and Health Sciences “Vincenzo Tiberio”, Università degli Studi del Molise, Via Francesco De Sanctis 1, 86100 Campobasso (CB), Italy)

Abstract

The present work concerns the energy retrofit of a public educational building at the University of Molise, located in Termoli, South Italy. The study provides a comparison of the results obtained by different dynamic simulations of passive strategies to improve thermal comfort and energy behavior of the building during the summer regime. Firstly, the building model was calibrated against historical consumption data. Then, a subsequent step involves the technical-economic analysis, by means of building performance simulations, of energy upgrading scenarios, specifically, cool roof and green roof technologies for the horizontal opaque envelope and thermal insulation, vented façade, and phase change materials’ applications for the vertical opaque envelope. Improving the indoor thermal comfort and reducing the thermal energy demand during summertime through innovative solutions will be the primary objective of the present study. The energy efficiency measures are compared from the energy, emissions, costs, and indoor comfort points of view. Phase Change Materials applied to the inner side of the external walls are analyzed in depth and, by varying their melting temperature, optimization of design is performed too. This innovative material, with a melting temperature of 23 °C and a freezing temperature of 21 °C, determines the reduction of summer energy consumption of 11.7% and the increase of summer indoor comfort of 215 h. Even if consolidated, other solutions, like the cool roof, green roof, thermal insulation, and vented façade induce improvements in terms of summer energy saving, and the percentage difference compared to the basic building is less than 2%. For this case study, a Mediterranean building, with construction characteristics typical of the 1990s, traditional passive technologies are not very efficient in improving the energy performance, so the investigation focused on the adoption of innovative solutions such as PCMs, for reducing summer energy demand and improving indoor thermal comfort.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabrizio Ascione & Nicola Bianco & Rosa Francesca De Masi & Margherita Mastellone & Giuseppe Peter Vanoli, 2019. "Phase Change Materials for Reducing Cooling Energy Demand and Improving Indoor Comfort: A Step-by-Step Retrofit of a Mediterranean Educational Building," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-32, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:19:p:3661-:d:270534
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gil-Baez, Maite & Padura, Ángela Barrios & Huelva, Marta Molina, 2019. "Passive actions in the building envelope to enhance sustainability of schools in a Mediterranean climate," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 144-158.
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    2. Stella Tsoka & Theodoros Theodosiou & Konstantia Papadopoulou & Katerina Tsikaloudaki, 2020. "Assessing the Energy Performance of Prefabricated Buildings Considering Different Wall Configurations and the Use of PCMs in Greece," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-20, September.
    3. Zeyad Amin Al-Absi & Mohd Isa Mohd Hafizal & Mazran Ismail & Azhar Ghazali, 2021. "Towards Sustainable Development: Building’s Retrofitting with PCMs to Enhance the Indoor Thermal Comfort in Tropical Climate, Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-16, March.
    4. Ahmed M. Bolteya & Mohamed A. Elsayad & Ola D. El Monayeri & Adel M. Belal, 2022. "Impact of Phase Change Materials on Cooling Demand of an Educational Facility in Cairo, Egypt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-14, November.
    5. Valeria Annibaldi & Federica Cucchiella & Marianna Rotilio, 2020. "A Sustainable Solution for Energy Efficiency in Italian Climatic Contexts," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, June.
    6. Zeyad Amin Al-Absi & Mohd Hafizal Mohd Isa & Mazran Ismail, 2020. "Phase Change Materials (PCMs) and Their Optimum Position in Building Walls," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-25, February.
    7. Su, Yuan & Wang, Linwei & Feng, Wei & Zhou, Nan & Wang, Luyuan, 2021. "Analysis of green building performance in cold coastal climates: An in-depth evaluation of green buildings in Dalian, China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    8. Mishan Shrestha & Hom Bahadur Rijal, 2023. "Investigation on Summer Thermal Comfort and Passive Thermal Improvements in Naturally Ventilated Nepalese School Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-33, January.
    9. Małgorzata Basińska & Dobrosława Kaczorek & Halina Koczyk, 2021. "Economic and Energy Analysis of Building Retrofitting Using Internal Insulations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, April.
    10. Ahmet Bircan Atmaca & Gülay Zorer Gedik & Andreas Wagner, 2021. "Determination of Optimum Envelope of Religious Buildings in Terms of Thermal Comfort and Energy Consumption: Mosque Cases," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-17, October.

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