The residential sector has enormous potential in the decarbonization and the transition towards a climate neutral future shall pass from net zero-energy buildings. For this reason, HVAC systems and buildings with enhanced efficiency and reduction of energy waste have been studied with increasing interest over the past decades. However, innovative technologies should be considered, like latent thermal energy storages (LTESs). In fact, LTESs offer the possibility to decouple energy demand and availability, thus permitting to fully exploit renewable energy sources (i.e., photovoltaic panels in the residential sector). A lot of work is surely needed on the material at the base of these LTESs: the so-called phase change materials (PCMs). Even if PCMs present many advantages, such as a nearly-isothermal phase change process and higher storage density capability with respect to sensible systems, there are some drawbacks that still limit their implementation, the main being their low thermal conductivity (usually less than 1 W m−1 K−1). The integration of PCMs with adequate heat exchangers (HXs) is important to counteract this PCMs’ issue. In the present study, the commercial PCM RT62HC is embedded in finned and foamed coil heat exchangers for domestic hot water applications and the performance of the system is experimentally assessed under several operating conditions. The results, discussed in terms of temperature field and heat flow rate reveal fundamental information about the behavior of these innovative storage systems and allowing for their optimization.

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Experimental Analysis of the Performance of a Phase Change Material Embedded in Finned and Foamed Heat Exchangers

  • Dario Guarda,
  • Giacomo Favero,
  • Giulia Righetti,
  • Simone Piovesan,
  • Zongmin Gu,
  • Simone Mancin

摘要

The residential sector has enormous potential in the decarbonization and the transition towards a climate neutral future shall pass from net zero-energy buildings. For this reason, HVAC systems and buildings with enhanced efficiency and reduction of energy waste have been studied with increasing interest over the past decades. However, innovative technologies should be considered, like latent thermal energy storages (LTESs). In fact, LTESs offer the possibility to decouple energy demand and availability, thus permitting to fully exploit renewable energy sources (i.e., photovoltaic panels in the residential sector). A lot of work is surely needed on the material at the base of these LTESs: the so-called phase change materials (PCMs). Even if PCMs present many advantages, such as a nearly-isothermal phase change process and higher storage density capability with respect to sensible systems, there are some drawbacks that still limit their implementation, the main being their low thermal conductivity (usually less than 1 W m−1 K−1). The integration of PCMs with adequate heat exchangers (HXs) is important to counteract this PCMs’ issue. In the present study, the commercial PCM RT62HC is embedded in finned and foamed coil heat exchangers for domestic hot water applications and the performance of the system is experimentally assessed under several operating conditions. The results, discussed in terms of temperature field and heat flow rate reveal fundamental information about the behavior of these innovative storage systems and allowing for their optimization.