The Phase Change Matters e-mail newsletter is a weekly summary of the latest news and research on phase change materials and thermal energy storage. To subscribe, visit www.puretemp.com/subscribe. For more frequent updates, follow @puretemp on Twitter or visit the Phase Change Matters blog, www.puretemp.com/pcmatters.
BUILDING/CONSTRUCTION
In buildings across Australia, PCM use is state of the art (and science)
Architecture & Design of Australia offers a wide-ranging look at how architects, designers and engineers are using phase change materials in the land down under. Products made by BASF, DuPont, Phase Change Energy Solutions, Tate Access Floors, GlassX and Phase Change Products can be found in high-tech concrete, wallboard, glass and cooling systems across Australia.
Armstrong says PCM ceiling tiles can help British schools meet new rules
Armstrong Ceilings hosted a seminar in London last month explaining how schools can meet new regulations aimed at improving ventilation and thermal comfort in British classrooms.
Phase 2 of the Priority School Building Programme will rebuild or refurbish 277 schools across England at a cost of more than $3 billion.
Jeremy Sumeray, Armstrong’s head of sustainability, said the new Priority School Building Programme provides an ideal opportunity to install lightweight thermal mass. According to a report in Specification Online:
“He revealed how the use of such lightweight thermal mass – recyclable ceiling tiles which incorporate phase change material (PCM) – in a classroom at Belvoir High School in Nottingham had resulted in consistently lower peak temperatures with natural ventilation compared to an identical classroom with standard ceiling tiles.”
THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE
CALMAC offers building owners, managers free analysis of energy bills
CALMAC, maker of ice-based energy storage systems, is offering to analyze commercial energy bills for free. The new service allows owners and managers of commercial buildings to upload a copy of an electricity bill through CALMAC’s website. A rate specialist will review the bill to identify potential savings that can be achieved by shifting a building’s cooling load to cheaper off-peak hours.
Dow, NEST team up on thermal energy storage project in Abu Dhabi
Dow Chemical is collaborating with NEST AS of Norway on a thermal energy storage pilot project in Abu Dhabi. The project, to be undertaken at Masdar Institute of Science and Technology’s concentrated solar power installation in Masdar City, will study the feasibility of a novel TES system developed by NEST. Dow will supply technical support and 2.6 metric tons of its Dowtherm A heat transfer fluid.
REFRIGERATION
Frigesco flash defrost system wins ACR News Award
Frigesco Ltd.’s low-energy flash defrost system was among the winners at last week’s ACR News Awards in London, earning Refrigeration Product of the Year honors.
The British company’s technology harnesses waste heat to defrost refrigeration systems more efficiently, reducing supermarket cooling costs by up to 20 percent. Phase change material is used to store the waste heat.
Other ACR winners include Toshiba, Cool Designs Ltd. and Sainsbury Triple Zero Stores.
JOB OPENING
ARPA-E seeks deputy director of commercialization
ARPA-E is accepting applications for a deputy director of commercialization. The deputy director is a member of the agency’s executive leadership team and oversees the agency’s Technology-to-Market program and outreach efforts. For details, see the Job Opportunities section of ARPA-E’s website, http://arpa-e.energy.gov/?q=arpa-e-site-page/job-opportunities.
RESEARCH ROUNDUP
From Journal of Colloid and Interface Science:
From Energy and Power Engineering:
From Applied Thermal Engineering:
From International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer:
From Energy Conversion and Management:
From Advances in Thermal Energy Storage Systems:
From Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews:
From Energy and Buildings:
From Solar Energy:
From Renewable Energy:
From Fractals:
From International Journal of Sustainable Energy:
WEEKLY Q&A
Got a question about PCMs or TES? Ask our expert
Dr. Mohammed Farid, an Entropy Solutions advisor and professor of chemical and materials engineering at the University of Auckland, has agreed to answer your questions about phase change material and thermal energy storage. We’ll select the best questions sent to inquiries@entropysolutionsinc.com and post the answers here each Friday.
Shivangi Sharma, a Ph.D. student at the University of Exeter, asks:
“How is the phase change material selection dependent on the photovoltaic panel temperature? For instance, for a PV panel with Tmax = 80°C, but most suitable operating temperature of about 25°C, what should be the best targeted phase change temperature range? Should it be around 25°C or about 80°C for maximum cooling benefits?”
Dr. Farid’s reply:
“Phase change material cannot work in such an application unless you have an environment where the temperature varies significantly between day and night. You need to select the melting temperature between those two to ensure that the PCM can solidify at night. If the maximum ambient temperature is 25º C and maximum PV temperature is 80º C, then a 30º C PCM may work based on the condition that night temperatures drop to at least 20º C. There is no simple answer to this, but we have built such a system in our laboratory and completed research that will be published soon. I would be happy to direct you to the paper when it becomes available.”
YOUR TURN
How are we doing?
We’re working to make Phase Changes Matters the industry’s most comprehensive source for news and information on phase change materials and thermal energy storage. We’d love to hear from you. Is the academic research roundup useful? How about the links to case studies? Market research? New products? Company news? Job openings? Training opportunities? And just as important: What important topics have we failed to cover?
Don’t be shy: Drop us a line at inquiries@entropysolutionsinc.com and let us know what you think.