Phase Change Material to increase the thermal inertia of wooden buildings

The thermal inertia of buildings allows opportunities to store energy and thus reduce both energy use and peak power problems. Under specific conditions, the accumulated energy in the construction materials can be utilized. The potential for increasing thermal inertia is particularly high for lightweight wooden buildings.

Previous research has shown that it is possible to use construction-integrated phase change materials (PCM) for this purpose. They are characterized by a particularly good ability to store thermal energy under special conditions. Commercial products are available but are rarely used in practice and there is a lack of experimentally validated strategies for how to optimize the installation.

The purpose of the project is to investigate and propose strategies to use PCM, as board material with PCM enclosed in small pores, to increase the thermal inertia of light wooden buildings. The aim is to identify strategies for implementing PCM in combination with isolation.