Investigating the influence of various operational parameters on the energy storage capacity of an Active Phase Change Material System in buildings

Phase Change Materials (PCM) are reported to achieve massive energy savings in buildings. However, in real-life scenarios, the results vary from the theoretical or experimental results. This study investigated the causes of poor energy savings and inefficiencies of an active PCM system installed in an eleven-storey educational building in Melbourne, Australia. The key design and operation parameters that affect the energy saving performance of the active PCM system were identified. Then, using a small-scale model of the system, this study experimentally investigated the influence of these parameters on the melting, solidification and energy storage of an active PCM system.