THE INFLUENCE OF PASSIVE COOLING ON ENERGY SAVING

The increase in energy consumption in summer season is very often caused by the design of buildings with transparent facades and light-weight envelopes with the low thermal storage capacity. The energy consumption depends on the efficiency of air-conditioning systems that are used for provision of thermal comfort. The design and use of building structures with phase change materials can increase thermal storage capacity of the envelope and reduce the energy consumption for operating of a building. The paper deals with the results of practical monitoring of the influence of building structures with integrated phase change materials on the thermal comfort. The storage medium, e.g. in the walls and ceiling, absorbs thermal energy during the day. But for the repeated use on the next day it is necessary to provide discharging of stored energy. Paper shows the results from measurement with different air change rates in the special testing room. It seems to be necessary to use mechanical night ventilation for activation of latent heat storage medium during the off-peak time.