Barbi Silvia, Barbieri Francesco, Marinelli Simona, Rimini Bianca, Merchiori Sebastiano, Bottarelli Michele, Montorsi Monia
Department of Sciences and Methods for Engineering, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Amendola 2, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Interdepartmental Research Center for Industrial Research and Technology Transfer in the Field of Integrated Technologies for Sustainable Research, Efficient Energy Conversion, Energy Efficiency of Buildings, Lighting and Home Automation, EN & TECH, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Amendola 2, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Polymers (Basel). 2022 Feb 5;14(3):620. doi: 10.3390/polym14030620.
The building sector is responsible for a third of the global energy consumption and a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions. Phase change materials (PCMs) have shown high potential for latent thermal energy storage (LTES) through their integration in building materials, with the aim of enhancing the efficient use of energy. Although research on PCMs began decades ago, this technology is still far from being widespread. This work analyses the main contributions to the employment of PCMs in the building sector, to better understand the motivations behind the restricted employment of PCM-based LTES technologies. The main research and review studies are critically discussed, focusing on: strategies used to regulate indoor thermal conditions, the variation of mechanical properties in PCMs-based mortars and cements, and applications with ground-coupled heat pumps. The employment of materials obtained from wastes and natural sources was also taken in account as a possible key to developing composite materials with good performance and sustainability at the same time. As a result, the integration of PCMs in LTES is still in its early stages, but reveals high potential for employment in the building sector, thanks to the continuous design improvement and optimization driven by high-performance materials and a new way of coupling with tailored envelopes.
建筑部门的能源消耗占全球能源消耗的三分之一，温室气体排放量占全球的四分之一。相变材料（PCM）通过与建筑材料相结合，在潜热蓄能（LTES）方面显示出巨大潜力，旨在提高能源利用效率。尽管对PCM的研究始于几十年前，但这项技术仍远未普及。本文分析了PCM在建筑领域应用的主要贡献，以便更好地理解基于PCM的LTES技术应用受限背后的原因。对主要的研究和综述进行了批判性讨论，重点关注：调节室内热环境的策略、基于PCM的砂浆和水泥力学性能的变化，以及与地源热泵的应用。利用废物和天然来源获得的材料也被视为开发同时具有良好性能和可持续性的复合材料的可能关键。因此，PCM在LTES中的应用仍处于早期阶段，但由于高性能材料推动的持续设计改进和优化以及与定制围护结构耦合的新方式，在建筑领域显示出巨大的应用潜力。
