Effect of Dual PCM Layer Location on the Thermal Response of a Multi-layered Building Envelope

The large temperature variation inside the building in summer affects negatively the indoor thermal comfort which causes a high energy consumption. Latent heat storage is one of the most efficient methods to save energy in buildings. In this study, the effect of the location of a dual PCM layer on the thermal response of a building envelope is analyzed under the climatic conditions of the southern Mediterranean. A 24-h simulation is carried out for three locations of the dual PCM integrated into a typical multi-layered building envelope used in Algeria: the inner side, the outer side, and both sides. The numerical model employs the finite volume method to solve the unsteady 2D heat conduction equation based on the enthalpy method. The results convincingly demonstrate that coating the inner surface with a dual PCM of (22 ℃ and 24 ℃) embedded in plaster reveals the best energy reduction with a decay rate of over 160% compared to the case without PCM.