Journal Article

Assessment of Phase Change Materials Incorporation into Construction Commodities for Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Building Applications

Manca, Oronzio, Bounib, Meriem, Caggiano, Antonio, Nardini, Sergio, Salhab, Hala, Rahman, Ihsan Ur, Buonomo, Bernardo, Rehman, Shafi Ur

2025

Overview

The significant energy consumption and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions by the construction sector need careful attention to explore innovative sustainable solutions for improving the energy efficiency and thermal comfort of building envelopes. The integration of phase-change materials (PCMs) into building commodities is a favorable technology for minimizing energy consumption and enhancing thermal performance. This review paper covers the impact of PCM incorporation into construction materials, such as walls, roofs, and glazing units. Additionally, it examines different embedding techniques like direct incorporation, immersion, macro and micro-encapsulation, and form and shape-stable PCM. Factors affecting the thermal performance of PCM-integrated buildings, including melting temperature, thickness, position, volumetric change, vapor pressure, density, optical properties, latent heat, thermal conductivity, chemical stability, and climate conditions, are elaborated. Furthermore, the latest experimental and numerical simulations, as well as modeling techniques, evident from case studies, are investigated. Ultimately, the advantages of PCM integration, including energy savings, peak load reduction, improvement in interior comfort, and reduced heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning dependence, are explained alongside the limitations. Finally, the recent progress and future potential of PCM-integrated construction materials are discussed, focusing on innovations in this field, addressing the status of policies in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and outlining research potential for the future.

• Publisher: MDPI AG
• Subject: Air conditioning / Air pollution / Building / Building envelopes / building thermal comfort / building thermal management / carbon-neutral constructions / Case studies / China / Climatic conditions / Commodities / Construction / Construction industry / Construction materials / Cooling / Electric properties / Embedding / Emissions / Energy conservation / Energy consumption / Energy efficiency / Energy industry / Energy management systems / Energy storage / Energy use / energy-efficient constructions / Environmental engineering / environmental sustainability / Force and energy / France / Germany / Glazing / Green buildings / Greenhouse gases / Heat / Heating / HVAC / Italy / Latent heat / Melt temperature / Microencapsulation / Numerical analysis / Optical properties / Peak load / Phase change materials / phase change materials integration / Phase transitions / Product development / Simulation methods / Sustainability / Sustainable development / Temperature / Thermal comfort / Thermal conductivity / Thermal energy / United Kingdom / Vapor pressure / Ventilation