Abstract:
Green building designs are gaining traction in the current scenario, as today's energy
source has a significant environmental impact due to its reliance on fossil fuels.
Furthermore, fossil fuel sources are depleting at the same time as energy demand is
quickly increasing. The construction or industrial facilities sector accounts for up to
40% of worldwide energy demand. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)
systems are responsible for more than 60% of overall energy usage in buildings, with
glass windows being the primary source of heat load. Because windows are an essential
aspect of a building's system for obtaining natural light, they cannot be overlooked
when designing a structure. The present work investigates the effect of the phase
transition or melting temperature of PCMs when used in double-glazed windows. Its
impact on the heat and light transfer characteristics were analyzed using experimental
and numerical methods. The PCM acts as latent heat storage and reduces the heat in
leak to the inner space. The goal of this study is to limit the amount of heat that is
conveyed to the inside through the glass. An experiment was conducted for each PCM
material with different phase transition temperatures to determine the glazing's inner
and outer surface temperatures in a controlled environment. To validate the
experimental results ANSYS FLUENT software was utilized to conduct the numerical
analysis. Windows with PCM filled between two glazing’s were discovered to
efficiently reduce the inner surface temperature of the glazing along with reduction in
heat transfer. The main parameter that was taken into consideration in this work is the
phase transition temperature. PCMs having different melting temperatures are used to
establish that the phase transition temperature plays an important role in the proper
usage of PCM in double-glazed windows. In the investigation, it was observed that the
utilization of PCMs diminishes as phase transition temperatures rise. We must choose
the right width for the double glazing to make up for this. The solidification of the
liquefied PCM happens slowly and the glazing's ability to transmit light is unaffected if
the PCM's melting temperature and thickness of the PCM layer is selected based on the
atmospheric condition.
