Performance evaluation and airflow optimization of a wall-integrated PV-PCM-TEC system for office building: A CFD and AHP study

To mitigate building energy consumption and carbon emissions, a novel photovoltaic-phase change material-thermoelectric cooler (PV-PCM-TEC) system was proposed and integrated into the south wall of an office building in Wuhan, China. This study focuses on evaluating the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) under different ventilation configurations when such a system is installed. The PCM plate serves as a thermal buffer layer to assist TEC operation, but the primary contribution is a multi‑criteria assessment of thermal comfort, air quality, and ventilation effectiveness using CFD and AHP. Using Airpak software, the indoor thermal performance was simulated, including air temperature, Predicted Mean Vote (PMV), CO₂ concentration, and mean age of air (MAA) under various ventilation configurations. The performance of these ventilation configurations was then evaluated via the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Results indicated that the top-supply with north-side lower return airflow configuration was identified as the preferred configuration, slightly outperforming the second-best case (0.2867 vs. 0.2864). This work provided insights for designing building-integrated PV systems that prioritize both energy efficiency and superior indoor environmental quality.