Thermal performance of ventilated solar collector with energy storage containing phase change material

This paper presents a ventilated solar collector with energy storage of fins containing Phase Change Material (PCM) in the air cavity and investigates its thermal performance. The idea is to use PCM in combination with ventilation as a thermal controller of indoor environment and to consequently decrease the building energy consumption both in summer and winter time. The main parts of the solar collector are plate fins with small thickness containing PCM fitted into the ventilation cavity, which is a good way to compensate the low thermal conductivity of PCM.