Volume 55

Innovative HVAC solutions: Impact of nanoparticles and fins on PCM incorporated system for peak load management Rahul Kumar Sharma, Dibakar Rakshit, Man Pun Wan

Abstract

Indoor air quality is an important factor which affects the cognitive ability and performance of the occupants of a building, hence, fresh air is incorporated into indoor spaces. However, due to high ambient temperatures, typically in tropical zones, will further increase the energy consumption of HVAC systems. Phase change materials (PCM) are widely employed due to their high energy storage capacity as well as keeping the operating temperature unchanged. The study explores the effect of using a PCM-based heat exchanger for reducing the fresh air temperature and, hence reducing the fresh air ventilation load of a building. On using octadecane as PCM, the study observed that for 8 hours of operation, the average temperature reduction in the air for no fins is 1.80 °C, which increases marginally to 1.82 °C for 1% CuO and 4.15 °C on using 24 longitudinal fins. It leads to an energy saving of 3.51%, 3.83% and 7.75% over a conventional HVAC system for a system with no fin, 1% CuO, and 24 fins, respectively. Further, PCM is charged using exhaust air, and PCM solidifies completely in 4 hours. The study provides an energy-efficient solution for the sustainable use of HVAC systems for policy makers and HVAC engineers.

Keywords building energy efficiency, latent energy storage, HVAC system, retrofitting techniques