The Inphase project proposes the development of a precast concrete façade with incorporated Phase Changing Materials (PCMs) for residential buildings¿ envelopes, taking advantage of the latent thermal storage capacity of the latter in order to improve the overall performance of the building. The solution is based in layers of mortars and slurries for incorporation in precast building components actively controlled by means of an integrated hydronic radiant system. In order to evaluate the performance of different solutions, an experimental infrastructure was developed with laboratory test cells with increasing amounts of microencapsulated PCM (0%, 9%, 19%, 24% and 32%) proportions in relation to the total volume of PCM containing concrete. The temperature of the system is modified and controlled through an active water installation and measured at different points of the testing blocks and pipes, providing an in-depth analysis of the dynamic response of the system. The idea is to be able to activate or control the thermal inertia of the material at will for the development of the experiment as well as future applications. The models were devised to be monitored in order to obtain a detailed study of their thermal properties and performance, such as temperature profiles, heat flux, dampening or phase shift. This information will later be used to validate the simulation model, which enables the digital analysis of a building with these materials incorporated as part of its envelope

INPHASE project (RTC-2015-3583-5) has been founded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness within the National Programme for Research Aimed at the Challenges of Society, included in the framework of the Spanish National Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2013-2016, and has been co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), with the aim of promoting technological development, innovation and quality research.

Trabajo presentado al Eurotherm Seminar #112: Advances in Thermal Energy Storage, celebrado en la Universitat de Lleida del 15 al 17 de mayo de 2019.