Vol. 23, No. 3 (2024), IE24351 https://doi.org/10.24275/rmiq/IE24351

Assessment of thermal comfort with phase change materials in a standard house for different Mexican climates: a simulation study using EnergyPlus

 

Authors

B.G. Gamboa-Loya, R. Jäckel, G.L. Gutiérrez-Urueta, C. Monreal-Jiménez, J.E. Rojas- Ricca, R. Peña-Gallardo

Abstract

This study presents a simulation to evaluate the thermal comfort in a standard model of a Mexican home, representative of the type of dwelling where most people in Mexico live, focusing on the effect of phase change materials (PCM) with a fusion temperature of 21°C. Eight representative cities were selected from the different Köppen climatic types in Mexican territory. The study was conducted using EnergyPlus. The simulations predict the time-dependent behavior of indoor temperature and relative humidity for calculating the discomfort index. The results include comparisons of thermal discomfort with and without the use of phase change materials. These indicate that, in most cases, the indoor temperature of the home is attenuated using phase change material, which promotes energy savings by reducing the need to use air conditioning equipment to achieve thermal comfort. This was particularly effective in Monterrey during summer season and Xalapa during winter, reducing 183.91 and 121.71 thermal discomfort hours, respectively (9.22% and 22.63% of hours). Meanwhile, the cities of Tuxtla Gutiérrez during summer and Mérida during winter were affected negatively with the use of phase change material, increasing 246.03 and 50.78 thermal discomfort hours, respectively (27.87% and 5.66% of hours). Overall, the enhancement of thermal comfort using phase change material was more effective during winter than in summer, due to the hot temperatures being constantly higher than the phase change material’s melting point.

Keywords

thermal comfort, EnergyPlus, PCM, total discomfort change.

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