Experimental and numerical studies on thermal performance and optimization of night ventilation strategies for improvement of cooling energy performance in office cubicles with PCM-enhanced spackling

Abstract

PCM enhanced wallboards on internal surfaces of building spaces is an attractive solution for improvement of thermal performance in buildings. This work deals with using a novel spackling compound as a primer coating material, from Gyproc Saint-Gobain, Sweden AB, in the inner walls of building envelopes for passive cooling and thermal comfort management. Experimental studies in an office cubicle showed the material to increase the thermal inertia of the environment and cause for a reduction in the indoor air temperature development throughout the hot period of the day. An office builing with multiple single celled cubicles was modelled to investigate the PCM spackle in a larger scale environment with dynamic climate during the summer season in Oslo. A natural and a hybrid night night ventilation strategy was designed and optimal air flow rates was determined to ensure good performance with the PCM spackle to provide passive cooling. It was found that the night ventilation strategies were effective and the PCM spackle further improved the thermal behaviour of the building to significantly reduce the cooling load and energy consumption needed for cooling to meet thermal comfort criterias.