Decrease of Electrical Consumption During Periods of Peak Load Into the National Grid by Improving Thermal Insulation of Buildings

Abstract

Improving the thermal insulation of building envelope translates into reduced consumption of electrical energy used for air conditioning during the summer months, especially in hot regions such as region of Ouargla. In this paper a study of the thermal behavior and optimization by numerical simulation of a brick containing phase change material (PCM) is realized. Actual weather conditions of temperature and solar radiation in the region of Ouargla are used as boundary conditions. Several parameters affecting the efficiency of thermal insulation of brick as: the type of PCM, the geometry of the container of the PCM, the effect of surface / volume ratio and location of the PCM in the brick are optimized. The results show that the improved brick reduces 86.87% of the heat flux entering to the internal environment and therefore, the same portions of electrical energy used by air conditioning are reduced. Consequently the peak consumption of this energy into the national grid during periods of peak load is decrease.