Advances in Building Energy Research

Choi, Jong-Su; Woo, Byeong-Hun; Kim, Hong-Gi; Kim, Joo-Young; Ryou, Jae-Suk

2025 Advances in Building Energy Research

doi: 10.1080/17512549.2025.2451359

PCM is a valuable construction material due to its energy efficiency, but leakage during phase changes poses challenges. This study developed a cork energy storage aggregate (CESA) by vacuum impregnating cork with phase change material (PCM) and coating it with polymer and silica fume to address leakage. Experiments confirmed the suitability of CESA as a building material, demonstrating its compressive strength. Thermal analysis via differential scanning calorimetry showed a decrease in enthalpy after PCM impregnation, with CESA with parafol-20Z displaying an enthalpy of 88 J/g compared to the 193.5 J/g of PCM. Despite the reduced enthalpy, CESA aggregates delayed temperature rise effectively in energy storage tests. CESA with paraffin wax showed a 1.48 times temperature-increasing time lag, and CESA with parafol-20Z showed a 1.78 times time lag. These results meant that CESA showed a potential for energy-saving performance when this technology is applied to buildings. Laboratory experiments under varying ambient temperatures further confirmed the significant of CESA heat storage capacity. These findings highlight the importance of selecting PCM based on external temperature and melting point for optimal energy savings, demonstrating the potential of CESA to reduce energy consumption in construction.

Amoatey, Patrick; Al-Saadi, Saleh; Al-Harthy, Issa; Al-Jabri, Khalifa; Al-Azki, Saba

2025 Advances in Building Energy Research

doi: 10.1080/17512549.2024.2448329

The state of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) on school students during the winter season in hot climates has received little attention. This study aims to evaluate the IEQ conditions, namely, thermal, visual, acoustic comfort, and air quality, for typical private (PSB) and government (GSB) school buildings during winter in a typical hot climate. Subjective and objective assessments were conducted on 304 students distributed in 14 classrooms. The results showed that winter outdoor climate might have favoured most of the measured IEQ factors, therefore, meeting the ASHRAE 55 and EN 16798-1 standards. Thermal comfort yielded neutral–cool classroom conditions in PSB according to predicted mean vote (PMV) and predicted percentage of dissatisfaction (PPD), whereas in GSB, a neutral thermal sensation environment of PMV (0.02–0.2) and a PPD of 5–6% was found across the classrooms. Despite the measured sound levels exceeding the critical level of 35 dBA, most of the students rated the classroom's sound levels as neutral (41.3–44.8%) and satisfying (27.9–31.3%), which might be due to the long-term acclimatization of the students to the background noise levels. The majority of the students (42.7–47.6%) described the indoor air quality as neutral, which raises potential health risks.

Álvarez Carpintero, Juan David; Hernández, Robinson Osorio; Camacho Tamayo, Jesus Hernan

2025 Advances in Building Energy Research

doi: 10.1080/17512549.2024.2438601

Non-Centrifugal Cane Sugar (NCS) production is an important economic and social factor for rural families who subsist with this activity. In Colombia, the implementation of industrial factories, called ‘Centrales’ has attempted to improve economy for people who do these activities without technification. Nevertheless, the characteristics of the factories show ventilation problems, generating risks for the workers and the product. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the existing deficiency in workplace ventilation and its resultant implications, while also presenting an alternative approach to enhance ventilation systems utilizing a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model. Results show that it is possible to improve the indoor environment for both workers and the NCS product, through natural ventilation strategies. This approach resulted in a reduction of approximately 13% in both temperature and relative humidity levels.