TY - JOUR
T1 - Free cooling potential of a PCM-based heat exchanger coupled with a novel HVAC system for simultaneous heating and cooling of buildings
AU - Maccarini, Alessandro
AU - Hultmark, Göran
AU - Bergsøe, Niels Christian
AU - Afshari, Alireza
PY - 2018/10/1
Y1 - 2018/10/1
N2 - This article presents a simulation-based study that estimates the primary energy use of a novel HVAC system for different configurations of a thermal plant. The main characteristic of the system is its ability to provide simultaneous heating and cooling to buildings by using a single hydronic circuit with water temperatures of about 22°C all year round. Four different configurations of the thermal plant were analyzed. A district heating-cooling network was considered as baseline. Other configurations included the use of a reversible air-to-water heat pump coupled with free cooling devices. In particular, a model of a PCM-based heat exchanger was developed in this work by using the programming language Modelica. This device was designed to store cold energy during night-time and release it during daytime through the water circuit. Results for a typical office building model showed that the integration of free cooling devices can significantly reduce the primary energy use of the novel HVAC system. In particular, the thermal plant configuration including the PCM-based heat exchanger made it possible to almost completely avoid the use of mechanical cooling, leading to annual primary energy savings of about 67% when compared with the baseline thermal plant configuration.
AB - This article presents a simulation-based study that estimates the primary energy use of a novel HVAC system for different configurations of a thermal plant. The main characteristic of the system is its ability to provide simultaneous heating and cooling to buildings by using a single hydronic circuit with water temperatures of about 22°C all year round. Four different configurations of the thermal plant were analyzed. A district heating-cooling network was considered as baseline. Other configurations included the use of a reversible air-to-water heat pump coupled with free cooling devices. In particular, a model of a PCM-based heat exchanger was developed in this work by using the programming language Modelica. This device was designed to store cold energy during night-time and release it during daytime through the water circuit. Results for a typical office building model showed that the integration of free cooling devices can significantly reduce the primary energy use of the novel HVAC system. In particular, the thermal plant configuration including the PCM-based heat exchanger made it possible to almost completely avoid the use of mechanical cooling, leading to annual primary energy savings of about 67% when compared with the baseline thermal plant configuration.
KW - Energy storage
KW - HVAC systems
KW - Modelica
KW - Phase change material (PCM)
KW - Simulation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85051644815&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scs.2018.06.016
DO - 10.1016/j.scs.2018.06.016
M3 - Journal article
SN - 2210-6707
VL - 42
SP - 384
EP - 395
JO - Sustainable Cities and Society
JF - Sustainable Cities and Society
ER -