Performance analysis of a novel phase-change wall of wood structure coupled with sky-radiation cooling

The integration of phase-change materials (PCM) into building enclosures can effectively improve the thermal performance of buildings. In this study, a novel phase-change wall of a wood structure with embedded capillaries that can utilize sky-radiation cooling is proposed to reduce energy consumption. The performance of the proposed wall was experimentally investigated and compared to that of an ordinary wood-structured wall under summer conditions. The results show that the proposed wall can significantly reduce the internal temperature of the wallboard and indoor air temperature. Compared with a traditional room with ordinary wood structure walls, the room using the PCM wallboard results in a more stable temperature fluctuation. Furthermore, the load from the east-oriented wall was reduced by 15.63%, the optimum decrement factor was 0.44, and the intensity of thermal discomfort was reduced in all directions. Therefore, the proposed wall has great application potential for reducing energy consumption and improving thermal comfort.