Experimental investigation on the effects of phase change material and different ventilation modes on the thermal storage, space heating and energy consumption characteristics of ventilated mortar blocks

Radiant heating floor integrated with micro encapsulated phase change material (PCM) can significantly increase the thermal storage capacity, and inside air channels can enhance the heat release flexibility. In this study, the impacts of micro encapsulated phase change material and ventilation on the thermal and energy characteristics of mortar blocks were experimentally investigated by a scaled system. Several mortar blocks with different amount of PCM were made, and the space heating performance and heating energy consumption were measured and analyzed under the same temperature-based control strategy. It is found out that when the mass ratio of PCM is 8.7%, the required heating time is increased by 78.5% and the thermal storage capacity is increased by 80.3% as compared to pure mortar block. Ventilation can further increase the energy consumption by more than 22.7%. Besides, by shifting the ventilation mode, the space heating and cooling rate can be flexibly adjusted, which is essential for the flexible operation of the new heating system. The concern of the maximum and reasonable weight percentage of the micro encapsulated PCM is also proposed and discussed.