Energy, Economics, and Environment analysis of traditional building materials integrated with phase change material to decarbonize buildings: An up-to-date overview

The energy demand and emission from global building sector are rising significantly, primarily driven by space cooling, because of global warming and climate change. Traditional building material such as Bricks, Concrete, Cement, and Glass suffered with low energy density and high thermal mass resulting in overheating under prolonged heating in hot climates casing un-comfort indoor thermal environment. Consequently, cooling energy demand of the building will increase. To mitigate these challenges, Phase Change Materials (PCMs) have emerged as a promising passive solution to this issue. Merits such as high energy density, isothermal charging and discharging of the PCM allows the building to regulate indoor temperature effectively resulting in energy and emission reduction. This comprehensive review synthesizes extensive research on PCM integration into building envelopes, analysing key thermophysical properties, classification, and integration methods. The analysis of experimental and simulation-based studies quantifies the energy savings ranging from 5-35% and reductions in temperature fluctuations of up to 46%. The effectiveness of a PCM system is shown to be contingent on a complex interplay of variables, including thickness of the PCM, orientation of the building element, and placement within the building structure, all of which must be optimized for a given climate. The report also addresses critical technical limitations, evaluates the economic viability, environmental benefits and thermal performance which, despite higher initial costs, often provides a return on investment within 5-10 years through long-term energy savings.