Invited Speaker

Dr. Muhammed A. Hassan

Dr. Muhammed A. Hassan

Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Egypt
Speech Title: Boosting the Thermal Capacitance of Thermally Activated Buildings Using Phase Change Materials

Abstract: One promising technology for reducing the energy consumption of the building sector is radiant heating and cooling, where liquid streams are circulated inside the building mass at relatively lower and higher temperatures (compared to conventional air-based systems) in heating and cooling modes, respectively. A hybrid radiant/air HVAC system comprises the aforementioned hydronic system, alongside a downsized air system for ventilation and management of latent loads. Assuming reliable operation and control, the dual system can drastically improve the energy savings and indoor thermal environment. In modern building envelopes, the lightweight structures have relatively small thermal masses. Hence, phase change materials could be used for increasing the thermal masses, as well as dampening the indoor temperature variations (through periodic melting and solidification) and shifting the peak loads. Despite the lack of studies on the integration of both technologies in the same building system, the limited available studies in the literature demonstrate energy-saving potentials of up to ~50% in both heating and cooling modes. In this presentation, key studies from the literature will be highlighted. Then, the presentation will discuss the main results from the simulations we carried out to investigate the feasibility of this technology for typical offices in the arid desert climate of Egypt, where we achieved energy savings of up to ~18.5%. Finally, side-by-side experimental comparisons between systems with and without phase change materials will be demonstrated.