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Application of PCM thermal energy storage system to reduce building energy consumption

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An Erratum to this article was published on 06 April 2012

Abstract

The building sector is known to make a large contribution to total energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Phase change materials (PCMs) have been considered for thermal energy storage (TES) in buildings. They can balance out the discrepancies between energy demand and energy supply, which are temporally out of phase. However, traditional PCMs need special latent storage devices or containers to encapsulate the PCM, in order to store and release the latent heat of the PCM. The proper design of TES systems using a PCM requires quantitative information and knowledge about the heat transfer and phase change processes in the PCM. In Korea, radiant floor heating systems, which have traditionally been used in residential buildings, consume approximately 55% of the total residential building energy consumption in heating. This article reviews the development of available latent heat thermal energy storage technologies and discusses PCM application methods for residential building using radiant floor heating systems with the goal of reducing energy consumption.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MEST) (No. 2011-0016996).

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Correspondence to Sumin Kim.

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Jeon, J., Lee, JH., Seo, J. et al. Application of PCM thermal energy storage system to reduce building energy consumption. J Therm Anal Calorim 111, 279–288 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-012-2291-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-012-2291-9

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