'Experimental Modelling of a Solar Thermal Storage System for Sustainable Space Heating of Residential Buildings' in proceeding of the Third international conference in sustainable building, Oslo, Norway, (on CD) article 365

A major obstacle for using solar energy for space heating is the time mismatch between solar availability and demand. In this research I proposed to use phase change materials (PCM) to overcome this problem which could significantly reduce or even eliminate the use of fossil fuel consumption for space heating in domestic buildings. The research was initially funded internally to pump-prime a potential research area contributing to sustainable building design.

The proposed system consists of conventional solar panels, hot water storage cylinders and experimental underfloor modules containing PCM. The research has developed and explored the performance of the system, which include: the selection of PCM, the thermal modelling, system configuration and optimisation.

This is the first research project I initiated in the area of thermal storage using phase change materials. I proposed the system and developed the thermal model that identified the experimental measurement and monitoring requirements. This research started the research theme of thermal storage as a sustainable technology and has successfully led to a number of projects including the partnership of two funded research projects in thermal storage – the DTI funded Teaching Company Scheme on PCM wallcovering and EU Framework 5 funded PCM hot water storage.