Experimental study of underfloor air supply system with air solar collector and shape-stabilized PCM

In this paper, a new kind of solar energy heating system with shape-stabilized PCM is put forward. It can absorb the solar energy in the daytime and release the heat at night in winter. The solar radiation energy was gained by air solar collector, and the heated air was sent to the underfloor space of the room with ducts at daytime. Then the thermal energy was stored in the shape-stabilized PCM plates. The shape-stabilized PCM can keep the shape stabilized when PCM undergoes a phase change because it is microencapsulated by the supporting material. At night the heat energy stored in the PCM could be released into the room by the ductless air supply. The thermal performance of a room using such system was experimentally studied. The experiments show that the thermal comfort degree of solar buildings can be improved when applying shape-stabilized PCM suitably. The conventional space heating energy consumption in winter can be greatly saved. Besides, the experimental results provide the data for further modeling and simulation research of such kind of system.