Using Phase Change Materials to Reduce Overheating Issues in UK Residential Buildings

The UK is currently suffering serious overheating issues in summer, especially in residential buildings where no air-conditioning has been installed. This overheating will significantly affect people's comfort and even health, especially for elderly people. Phase Change Materials (PCMs) have been considered as a useful passive method which absorb excessive heat when the room is hot and release the stored heat when the room is cool, so can be used to constrain the temperature variations in buildings. This research has adopted a simulation method in DesignBuilder to evaluate the effectiveness of using PCMs to reduce the overheating issues in UK residential applications, with a critical analysis on potential factors that will influence the overheating-reduction effectiveness. The factors evaluated in the study included the location of the PCM inside the building, the location of the building within the UK and global warming/climate change. This research provides quantified evidences about whether PCMs can be used to solve the current UK overheating issues, with suggestions on potential influential factors. The findings from this research will encourage the implementation of using PCMs in UK residential applications to energy efficiency and point out reasonable implementation strategies.