Review of free cooling system using phase change material for building

Abstract

Buildings are responsible for 40% of our nation's total annual energy consumption and for one-third of our greenhouse gas emissions. These greenhouse gases are the cause of global warming. Lighting, heating, cooling, and air conditioning are all heavy energy consumers. Interestingly, advances in the understanding of the environmental effects of greenhouse gas emissions have led to a rise in the use of environmentally friendly cooling and heating systems in buildings. Free cooling systems rely on phase change materials that absorb heat from indoors during the day and then release it outdoors during the night. The investigations undertake by different researchers will be explained in this article. Phase change materials, climate applicability, feasibility analysis, and factors affecting the charging and discharging are discussed briefly. The reduction in CO2 emissions resulting from the application of free cooling systems to buildings is also discussed. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.