Utilizing the Fanger thermal comfort model to evaluate the thermal, energy, economic, and environmental performance of PCM-integrated buildings in various climate zones worldwide

This research investigated the thermal and energy performance of a PCM-integrated Mid-rise Apartment building in 15 climatic zones and 60 cities using EnergyPlus software. A novel qualitative and quantitative concept was introduced to establish the performance of optimum PCM compared to no PCM case. Moreover, economic and environmental assessments were carried out to evaluate the financial benefits of PCM-integrated buildings and the amount of CO₂ reduction achieved. For the first time in this research, environmental analysis is being performed for PCM-integrated buildings by considering all the fuel sources producing electricity in 60 cities, covering 15 climate zones. The investigation unfolded that the integration of optimized PCM resulted in significant energy savings in each climate zone except equatorial climate, reducing maximum energy consumption up to 19,477 kWh (32.2%) in the arid climate zone. Furthermore, economic analysis suggests that the optimized PCM may achieve a static payback period as short as seven years in the warm temperate climate zone. Lastly, a comprehensive environmental analysis revealed that adding PCM into the building envelope is advantageous for all climate zones and can save up to 12,094 CO₂-e Kg/year in the warm temperate climate zone. Overall, it was concluded that PCM integration is viable from an economic, environmental, and energy savings standpoint.