Chapter 13
Review on PCM Application for Cooling
Load Reduction in Indian Buildings
Rajat Saxena, Dibakar Rakshit and S. C. Kaushik
Abstract Buildings use more than 40% of the total power consumed in India. Therefore, implementing energy conservation within buildings is of prime concern. Utilization of passive design parameters, such as Phase Change Material (PCM) incorporation, for energy conservation in buildings is thus a lucrative option. Incorporating
PCMs within elements result in lowering of heat gain and temperature within the
building. A number of simulation and experimental studies on PCM incorporated
buildings, have been carried out. The advancements made in last forty years in the
field of PCMs and their utilization as Thermal Energy Storage (TES) medium for
buildings have been reviewed and presented in this study. This study focusses on
PCM incorporation which is sensitive to its properties and climatic parameters of
the location. Thus, there is a need of benchmarking the PCM for their application in
buildings. Focus is on buildings in tropical hot climatic conditions, where reduction
in cooling load is a challenge. This study lays emphasis on selection of appropriate
PCMs based on its phase change temperature. Thermal conductivity, specific heat
and latent heat are other properties which must be evaluated before PCM selection
and implementation within buildings. The study also encompasses different methods of PCM incorporation being implemented across the world and have marked
advantages and disadvantages of each followed by their impact in terms of energy
savings.
Keywords Latent thermal energy storage · PCM · Passive system ·
Thermophysical properties · Building energy conservation
R. Saxena · D. Rakshit (B) · S. C. Kaushik
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas,
New Delhi 110016, India
e-mail: dibakar@iitd.ac.in
R. Saxena
e-mail: rajat.saxena@ces.iitd.ac.in
S. C. Kaushik
e-mail: kaushik@ces.iitd.ac.in
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
H. Tyagi et al. (eds.), Solar Energy, Energy, Environment,
and Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0675-8_13
247
Review on PCM Application for Cooling
Load Reduction in Indian Buildings
Rajat Saxena, Dibakar Rakshit and S. C. Kaushik
Abstract Buildings use more than 40% of the total power consumed in India. Therefore, implementing energy conservation within buildings is of prime concern. Utilization of passive design parameters, such as Phase Change Material (PCM) incorporation, for energy conservation in buildings is thus a lucrative option. Incorporating
PCMs within elements result in lowering of heat gain and temperature within the
building. A number of simulation and experimental studies on PCM incorporated
buildings, have been carried out. The advancements made in last forty years in the
field of PCMs and their utilization as Thermal Energy Storage (TES) medium for
buildings have been reviewed and presented in this study. This study focusses on
PCM incorporation which is sensitive to its properties and climatic parameters of
the location. Thus, there is a need of benchmarking the PCM for their application in
buildings. Focus is on buildings in tropical hot climatic conditions, where reduction
in cooling load is a challenge. This study lays emphasis on selection of appropriate
PCMs based on its phase change temperature. Thermal conductivity, specific heat
and latent heat are other properties which must be evaluated before PCM selection
and implementation within buildings. The study also encompasses different methods of PCM incorporation being implemented across the world and have marked
advantages and disadvantages of each followed by their impact in terms of energy
savings.
Keywords Latent thermal energy storage · PCM · Passive system ·
Thermophysical properties · Building energy conservation
R. Saxena · D. Rakshit (B) · S. C. Kaushik
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas,
New Delhi 110016, India
e-mail: dibakar@iitd.ac.in
R. Saxena
e-mail: rajat.saxena@ces.iitd.ac.in
S. C. Kaushik
e-mail: kaushik@ces.iitd.ac.in
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
H. Tyagi et al. (eds.), Solar Energy, Energy, Environment,
and Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0675-8_13
247