Phase change materials for improving the thermal performance of LSF construction

Abstract

Energy is nowadays a prime concern of our society and the buildings’ sector is an important player regarding energy consumption. Energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources are two strategies implemented by European Directives to address the energy performance of buildings. The research project PCMs4Buildings – Systems with PCM-filled rectangular cavities for the storage of solar thermal energy for buildings – was funded by FCT and by FEDER/COMPETE2020/POCI. The main goal of this research project is the development of systems with PCM-filled rectangular cavities for the storage of solar thermal energy in order to enhance the energy performance of buildings. Given their reduced thermal mass, lightweight steel framed (LSF) buildings are very suitable for the use of phase change materials (PCMs). Therefore, the PCMs4Buildings project mainly focuses on LSF construction, namely in the scope of Task 4 – “Tests in the Guarded Hot Box Apparatus” and of Task 5 – “Definition of full-scale prototypes”. In this communication it will be described the research activities related with Task 4 and the obtained results, as well as the future work.