Encapsulated Phase Change Materials and their Applications in Buildings

Abstract

Energy consumption of buildings has exceeded 25% of total social energy consumption and new techniques and new materials are greatly demanded in buildings in order to save the energy. As an important clean renewable energy resource, solar energy is expected to be used in buildings instead of traditional energy including petroleum and coal. Phase change material (PCM) can absorb solar energy, transfer it to heat, and store it through phase change process. When needed, the energy absorbed can be released. By this way, the room temperature in a building can be maintained in a comfortable region without input of extra energy. Therefore, PCM is a promising material for energy saving and will be widely used in various applications as well as buildings. In this paper, three kinds of encapsulated phase change materials, i.e., shape-stabilized PCM (FSPCM), absorbed PCM and PCM microcapsule are introduced. Their preparation methods and physical properties as well as typical applications are compared.