The use of natural ventilation in buildings to reduce the energy consumption and CO₂ emission has been widely investigated and practiced, but few existing studies have considered the exploration and assessment of natural ventilation in different location patterns of rural residential buildings in the mountainous terrain of China. In this paper, the representative rural residential buildings are firstly selected in Huarong, Pingjiang and Liuyang regions of northern Hunan Province to carry out on-site survey works to determine building types, physical parameters and layout forms. Then, the wind tunnel experiments are carried out to investigate the effectiveness of natural ventilation under different location patterns, and the monitored results are compared with simulated data. The results show that the experiments and simulations are in satisfactory agreement. The experimental data also indicate that when the modelled distance of 120 mm (i.e. 12 m between the building and hilly terrain in practical application) is the best option for building natural ventilation. Based on the investigation and statistical data, the natural ventilation effectiveness under different location patterns and operational conditions is simulated using CFD methods, and it is obtained the most favourable location pattern for natural ventilation. The results show that the winter ventilation of buildings in the existing location pattern is significantly obstructed in the hilly terrain, which is favourable to the indoor thermal environment, however, the natural ventilation is compromised to a certain extent in summer. Furthermore, the findings also show that, regardless of the hilly terrain's height at 50 m or 150 m, the buildings are able to avoid natural ventilation in winter to the maximum extent when the distance between the buildings and the frontier of the hilly terrain is double that of the building height (i.e. 12 m). This study could contribute to theoretical instructions for optimum design of natural ventilation of rural residential buildings in the mountainous terrain of central China.

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The vigorous expansion of renewable energy as a substitute for fossil energy is the predominant route of action to achieve worldwide carbon neutrality. However, clean energy supplies in multi-energy building districts are still at the preliminary stages for energy paradigm transitions. In particular, technologies and methodologies for large-scale renewable energy integrations are still not sufficiently sophisticated, in terms of intelligent control management. Artificial intelligent (AI) techniques powered renewable energy systems can learn from bio-inspired lessons and provide power systems with intelligence. However, there are few in-depth dissections and deliberations on the roles of AI techniques for large-scale integrations of renewable energy and decarbonisation in multi-energy systems. This study summarizes the commonly used AI-related approaches and discusses their functional advantages when being applied in various renewable energy sectors, as well as their functional contribution to optimizing the operational control modalities of renewable energy and improving the overall operational effectiveness. This study also presents practical applications of various AI techniques in large-scale renewable energy integration systems, and analyzes their effectiveness through theoretical explanations and diverse case studies. In addition, this study introduces limitations and challenges associated with the large-scale renewable energy integrations for carbon neutrality transition using relevant AI techniques, and proposes further promising research perspectives and recommendations. This comprehensive review ignites advanced AI techniques for large-scale renewable integrations and provides valuable informational instructions and guidelines to different stakeholders (e.g., engineers, designers and scientists) for carbon neutrality transition.

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Spatiotemporal energy interaction and sharing are promising solutions to penetrate renewable energy, enhance grid power stability, and improve regional energy flexibility. However, the current literature is restrained in a small-scale neighborhood level, without considering inter-city energy migration through spatiotemporal complementarity between renewable-abundant regions (like suburb or countryside areas) and demand-shortage regions (like city centers). In this study, the energy interaction boundary is extended from a neighborhood scale to an inter-city scale, to maximize the renewable energy penetration, demand coverage, and reduce regional energy imbalance. This study firstly proposes a holistic framework on inter-city transportation-based energy migration, consisting of a residential community with rooftop photovoltaic systems and electrical batteries, an office building, hydrogen vehicles (HVs), a hydrogen (H₂) station, and local power grids, for the energy transmission between building groups in spatially different regions through the daily commuting of HVs. Optimal grid-regulation strategies are thereafter proposed and adopted to stabilize the grid power and reduce energy costs. Parametric analysis on energy trading strategies and prices has been conducted, to improve the participation motivations of different stakeholders. Results indicate that, compared to the reference case with isolated buildings and vehicles, the transportation-based energy migration framework covers 23.2 % of the office energy demand and elevates the community's renewable self-use ratio from 72.7 % to 98.6 %. Meanwhile, the maximum grid-export power in the renewable-abundant region (suburb residential community) and the annual grid-import power in the demand-shortage region (city-center office) are reduced by up to 86.9 % (from 155.7 to 20.4 kW) and 29.4 % (from 49.0 to 34.6 kW), respectively. Moreover, even considering the fuel cell degradation cost of HVs, the transportation-based energy migration framework reduces the operating costs of the office building and HVs (the H₂ cost and the fuel cell degradation cost) by 16.4 % (from $52791.3 to $44154.7) and 1.7 % (from $27172.5 to $26707.4), respectively. Afterward, compared to the reference case, the peak-shaving and load-shaping grid-regulation strategies can decrease the peak grid-export power of the community by about 71.6 % (from 155.7 to 44.2 kW), and the maximum grid-import power of the office by 23.7 % (from 49.0 to 37.4 kW), respectively. Furthermore, the transportation-based energy migration framework is economically feasible, only when the renewable export price for H₂ production is 0.07 $/kWh, the onsite-renewable-generated H₂ lower than 6.5 $/kg for the HV owners, and the vehicle-to-building electricity lower than 0.3 $/kWh for the office building. This study provides a novel inter-city energy migration framework with hydrogen networks to enhance district energy sharing, improve regional energy balance and reduce carbon emission, together with frontier guidelines on energy trading prices to promote participation motivations from different stakeholders.

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The large thermal potentials with geothermal gradient of abandoned wells provide the possibility and opportunity for carbon-neutrality transition of district heating systems, whereas energy harvesting from abandoned geothermal wells is full of challenges, due to the considerable initial investment in economic cost, system performance degradation, and so on. In this chapter, a systematic and comprehensive review on the application techniques of abandoned wells is presented, in terms of advanced thermal/power conversions, renewable integrations for district heating, and strategies for performance enhancement. Discussions on real applications have been conducted and future prospects presented, from perspectives of lifetime system performance, techno-economic feasibility analysis, and potential assessment of abandoned wells for carbon-neutrality transition. The results of this chapter can provide preliminary knowledge and cutting-edge technologies on renewable integrations with abandoned wells, so as to demonstrate techno-economic-environmental potentials of abandoned wells and contributions toward carbon-neutrality transition.

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Smart and personalized ventilation systems have been demonstrated with high performance in creating a healthy and energy-efficient indoor environment, but they have been rarely comprehensively summarized and explored in previous studies. With the progressive development of various terminal devices and control technologies, personalized ventilation based on intelligent control is potentially a promising way to achieve efficient control and energy savings in human micro-environments. This study comprehensively summarizes and analyzes the recent studies and common utilization forms of smart ventilation and PV systems that are based on CO₂ concentration control, to pave path and provide some guidelines for their integration application for reducing energy consumption and improving indoor thermal comfort. Research shows that the combination of personalized ventilation and smart ventilation is an essential development for ventilation systems. Smart ventilation with demand control logic based on CO₂ concentration has been mature enough to effectively improve the effectiveness and comfortable performance of personalized ventilation. However, switching from traditional air conditioning systems to personalized ventilation still requires improved sensors and intelligent control algorithms. In addition, this paper also summarizes the exploratory studies and potential application analysis of machine-learning theories to improve intelligent control of personalized ventilation. To this end, this paper identifies future tendencies for advanced theories, integrated systems, and devices in personalized ventilation systems.

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Hydrogen-based (H₂-based) interactive energy networks for buildings and transportations provide novel solutions for carbon-neutrality transition, regional energy flexibility and independence on fossil fuel consumption, where vehicle fuel cells are key components for H₂-electricity conversion and clean power supply. However, due to the complexity in thermodynamic working environments and frequent on/off operations, the proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) suffer from performance degradation, depending on cabin heat balance and power requirements, and the ignorance of the degradation may lead to the performance overestimation. In order to quantify fuel cell degradation in both daily cruise and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) interactions, this study firstly proposes a two-space cabin thermal model to quantify the ambient temperature of vehicle PEMFCs and the power supply from PEMFCs to vehicle HVAC systems. Afterwards, a stack voltage model is proposed to quantify the fuel cell degradation for multiple purposes, such as daily transportation and V2G interactions. Afterwards, the two models are coupled in a community-level based building-vehicle energy network, consisting of twenty single residential buildings, rooftop PV systems, four hydrogen vehicles (HVs), a H₂ station, community-served micro power grid, local main power grid, and local H₂ pipelines, located in California, U.S.A. Comparative analysis with and without fuel cell degradation is conducted to study the impact of dynamic fuel cell degradation on the energy flexibility and operating cost. Furthermore, a parametrical analysis is conducted on the integrated HV quantity and the grid feed-in tariff to reach trade-off strategies between associated fuel cell degradation costs and grid import cost savings. The results indicate that, in the proposed hydrogen-based building-vehicle energy network, the total fuel cell degradation is 3.16% per vehicle within one year, where 2.50% and 0.66% are caused by daily transportation and V2G interactions, respectively. Furthermore, in the H₂-based residential community, the total fuel cell degradation cost is US$6945.2, accounting for 33.4% of the total operating cost at $20770.61. The sensitivity analysis results showed that, when the HV quantity increases to twenty, the fuel cell degradation of each HV decreases to 2.50%, whereas the total fuel cell degradation cost increases to 42.8% of the total operating cost. Last but not the least, the cost saving by V2G interactions can compensate the fuel cell degradation cost when the grid feed-in tariff is reduced by 40%. Research results can provide basic modelling tools on dynamic fuel cell degradation, in respect to vehicle power supply, vehicle HVAC and V2G interactions, together with techno-economic feasibility analysis, paving path for the development of hydrogen energy for the carbon-neutrality transition.

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Radiant cooling (RC) systems have attracted more attention due to their advantages of better thermal comfort and higher energy saving potential compared with the conventional cooling systems in China. This paper comprehensively reviews the current status of RC systems in terms of their application and mechanism research. First, current policies and standards of RC technology applications are sorted out. Then, the current application cases and existing engineering difficulties for RC technologies are discussed in China. This shows the degree of the adaption problem of RC technology in China due to the issues of condensation, fewer natural cooling sources, etc. Furthermore, the energy-saving potential of RC technology indeed does not achieve the expected objectives in China, according to most of the conclusions of previous research studies. The key reason for this lies in the change of heat exchange method to RC technology. Current methods are often limited in analyzing the impact of this change. Then, the special characters are reviewed and discussed in relation to topic of comfort and energy saving. Additionally, a novel analyzing method is proposed for solving the problems comprehensively. Finally, this review suggests future areas of research directions and methods. It will be conducive to a deeper understanding of design and application of RC systems for researchers and policymakers.

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Shallow subterranean ventilation of earth-to-air heat exchanger (EAHE) system can improve renewable utilisation, decrease CO ₂ emission and promote carbon-neutral transition. However, the conventional EAHE system has drawbacks, e.g., large occupied land area, low energy-usage efficiency, small falling gradient for buried pipe and fluctuated outlet air temperature. This study proposes a vertical EAHE integrated with annular PCM with advantages, including less occupied floor space, higher energy efficiency, better centralised discharge of air condensate water and more stable outlet air temperature. An experimental test-rig was established for online testing and the real-time monitored data was for modelling calibration to characterise the sophisticated heat transfer in phase change process. Afterwards, multivariant analysis on thermo-physical PCM parameters was conducted on cooling capacity and outlet air temperature fluctuation. A dimensionality reduction approach from redundant experiments was adopted for multivariant optimization and sensitivity analysis. Results show that PCM fusion temperature and latent heat of PCM dominate the cooling capacity with percentage contribution of 37.61% and 28.91%, respectively. PCM thickness and melting temperature dominate the temperature fluctuation with percentage contribution of 31.27% and 26.18%, respectively. This study provides benchmark and guidelines on PCM thermo-physical parameters’ selection with an efficient dimensionality reduction approach, paving path for application of the vertical EAHE integrated with PCMs in buildings.

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Geothermal energy with abundance and large quantity can partially cover building heating/cooling loads and promote the carbon-neutrality transitions. Shallow geothermal ventilation (SGV) system, with a little initial investment cost, is one of promising technologies to partly replace the conventional air-conditioning system for air pre-cooling/pre-heating. This paper reviews applications of SGV system for improving thermal performance over latest two decades, which mainly includes the reclassification of SGV system, coupling with other advanced energy-saving technologies, application potentials for building cooling/heating under various weather conditions. Heat transfer mechanism and mathematical modelling techniques have been reviewed, together with in-depth analysis on current research trends, existing limitations, and recommendations of SGV system. Phase change materials, with considerable latent energy density, can stabilize the thermal performance with high reliability. The review identifies that optimization designs and advanced approaches need to be investigated to address the existing urgent issues of SGV system (e.g., large land occupation, difficulty in centralized collection of condensate water timely for horizontal buried pipe, bacteria growth, polluted supply air, and high construction cost for vertical buried pipe). A plenty of studies show that the SGV system could greatly expand the application scope and improve system energy efficiency by combining with other energy-saving technologies. This paper will provide some guidelines for the scientific researchers and engineers to keep track on recent advancements and research trends of SGV system for the building thermal performance enhancement and pave path for future research works.

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A novel vertical air-soil heat exchanger (VASHE) is proposed, coupling with diversified energy storage components, i.e., both annular and tubular phase change material (PCM) components. Compared to traditional air-soil heat exchanger systems, advantages of the new VASHE include the space-saving, higher energy efficiency, centralized discharge of condensate water and smaller fluctuation of outlet air temperature. An enthalpy-based model is developed to characterise the underlying heat transfer mechanism of the sophisticated sensible and latent heat transfer in PCMs. An experimental platform is thereafter constructed for the calibration of the developed enthalpy-based numerical model. Systematic parametrical analysis has been conducted on PCM types, PCM structure and PCM locations. Research results indicated that, the developed enthalpy-based model was accurate to predict the system performance with the maximum relative error at 1.98%. Systematic parametric analysis indicates that, within various PCM types, the RT 20 in the tubular PCM is the most promising with the smallest outlet temperature amplitude. Furthermore, accurate PCM location is an effective solution to the contradiction between daily cooling storage capacity and outlet temperature amplitude. This study demonstrates a novel air-soil heat exchanger with diversified energy storage components, which can provide concrete guidance and pave path for the geothermal energy utilisation.

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Cleaner power production, distributed renewable generation, building-vehicle integration, hydrogen storage and associated infrastructures are promising for transformation towards a carbon–neutral community, whereas the academia provides limited information through integrated solutions, like intermittent renewable integration, hydrogen sharing network, smart operation on electrolyzer and fuel cell, seasonal hydrogen storage and advanced heat recovery. This study proposes a hybrid electricity-hydrogen sharing system in California, United States, with synergistic electric, thermal and hydrogen interactions, including low-rise houses, rooftop photovoltaic panels, hydrogen vehicles, a hydrogen station, micro and utility power grid and hydrogen pipelines. Advanced energy management strategies were proposed to enhance energy flexibility and grid stability. Besides, simulation-based optimizations on smart power flows of vehicle-to-grid interaction and electrolyzer are conducted for further seasonal grid stability and annual cost saving. The obtained results indicate that, the green renewable-to-hydrogen can effectively reduce reliance on pipelines delivered hydrogen, and the hydrogen station is effective to address security concerns of high-pressure hydrogen and improve participators’ acceptance. Microgrid peer-to-peer sharing can improve hydrogen system efficiency under idling modes. Furthermore, the integrated system can reduce the annual net hydrogen consumption in transportation from 127.0 to 1.2 kg/vehicle. The smart operation (minimum input power of electrolyzer and fuel cell at 65 and 80 kW) can reduce the maximum mean hourly grid power to 78.2 kW by 24.2% and the annual energy cost to 1228.5 $/household by 38.9%. The proposed district hydrogen-based community framework can provide cutting-edge techno-economic guidelines for carbon-neutral transition with district peer-to-peer energy sharing, zero-energy buildings, hydrogen-based transportations together with smart strategies for high energy flexibility.

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In order to reduce the energy consumption of HVAC systems in buildings, the use of energy-saving solutions is necessary. One of these solutions is ventilation, which is usually used for maintaining acceptable indoor air quality and thermal comfort. As the change in outdoor environment is unpredictable and the occupant control is spontaneous, it is critical to control the windows and HVAC systems to achieve a maximum use of outdoor air for indoor ventilation. A new rule-based control strategy that could change the opening factor of windows is proposed in this study and its effectiveness was tested in five representative climates, ranging from a subtropical region to a severely cold region. A building model was set up and the indoor air temperature and energy consumption were predicted using EnergyPlus. The results show that the proposed control strategy can utilize ventilation to maintain a comfortable indoor environment with an annual uncomfortable percentage in an occupied period lower than 5%, thus leading to an energy-saving rate of 13.5–55.6%. The simulation results indicate that there are periods of ventilation available during the summer in climate zones with hot summers and warm winters, whereas the control strategy has a better energy-saving performance in temperate areas. This study conducted a preliminary exploration for practical applications of the combined operation of controllable natural ventilation and HVAC systems in buildings.

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Phase change materials (PCMs) with considerable energy storage density show promise for building cooling performance enhancements, but the cooling performance is highly dependent on novel PCM-integrated forms and intelligent control strategies. This chapter provides a state-of-the-art review of novel PCM-based strategies for building cooling performance enhancements. The strategies investigated include PCM-integrated forms (such as distributed and coupled systems) and combined strategies (such as high-reflective coatings, radiative cooling walls, and hybrid ventilation). Heat transfer mechanisms for both distributed and coupled systems have been characterized to provide an in-depth understanding. Solutions for system performance enhancement of novel PCM-based cooling systems have been comprehensively presented. Future studies and prospects have been demonstrated as avenues for future research. This study presents a systematic overview of novel PCM-based strategies for cooling performance enhancement, together with technical challenges of the widespread applications. Research results are critical for the application and promotion of novel PCM-based cooling strategies in buildings.@en

Integrating phase change materials (PCMs) in buildings cannot only enhance the energy performance, but also improve the renewable utilization efficiency through considerable latent heat during charging/discharging cycles. However, system performances are dependent on PCMs’ integrated forms, heat transfer enhancement solutions, system operating modes, together with optimal geometrical and operating parameters. In this study, passive, active, and combined passive/active solutions in PCMs systems have been comprehensively reviewed, when being applied in heating, cooling and electrical systems, together with a dialectical analysis on advantages and disadvantages. In addition to novel system designs, interdisciplinary applications of machine learning have been reviewed and formulated, from perspectives of reliable structures, smart operational controls, and stochastic uncertainty-based performance prediction. Furthermore, a generic methodology with a systematic and hierarchical procedure has been proposed, with the implementation of machine-learning based technique for optimisations during both design and operation periods. The mechanisms of machine learning techniques were characterised as the simplifications of modelling and optimization processes, through the errors-driven update, the support vector regression and the backpropagation neural network. Several technical challenges were identified, such as the heat transfer enhancement, the novel structural configurations and the flexible switch on operating modes. Finally, identified challenges on machine learning include the development of advanced learning algorithms for efficient performance predictions, optimal structural configurations on neural networks, the trade-off between computational complexity and reliable optimal solutions, and so on. The formulated climate-adaptive designs, intelligent operations, uncertainty-based analysis and optimisations with interdisciplinary machine learning techniques can promote PCMs applications in sustainable buildings.@en

The underground air tunnel system shows promising potentials for reducing energy consumption of buildings and for improving indoor thermal comfort, whereas the existing dynamic models using the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) method show computational complexity and are user-unfriendly for parametrical analysis. In this study, a dynamic numerical model was developed with the on-site experimental calibration. Compared to the traditional CFD method with high computational complexity, the mathematical model on the MATLAB/SIMULINK platform is time-saving in terms of the real-time thermal performance prediction. The experimental validation results indicated that the maximum absolute relative deviation was 3.18% between the model-driven results and the data from the on-site experiments. Parametrical analysis results indicated that, with the increase of the tube length, the outlet temperature decreases with an increase of the cooling capacity whereas the increasing/decreasing magnitude slows down. In addition, the system performance is independent on the tube materials. Furthermore, the outlet air temperature and cooling capacity are dependent on the tube diameter and air velocity, i.e., a larger tube diameter and a higher air velocity are more suitable to improve the system’s cooling capacity, and a smaller tube diameter and a lower air velocity will produce a more stable and lower outlet temperature. Further studies need to be conducted for the trade-off solutions between air velocity and tube diameter for the bi-criteria performance enhancement between outlet temperature and cooling capacity. This study proposed an experimentally validated mathematical model to accurately predict the thermal performance of the underground air tunnel system with high computational efficiency, which can provide technical guidance to multi-combined solutions through geometrical designs and operating parameters for the optimal design and robust operation.

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A numerical model of a vertical earth-to-air heat exchanger (VEAHE) system was developed for the first time. Compared to conventional EAHE system models, the developed model considered the vertical distribution of soil temperature and thermal conductivity. The model validation against experimental data showed a good agreement. A parametric study was then conducted to investigate the effects of tube parameters, insulation parameters, mass flow rates and soil types. Results indicate that a system with a smaller tube diameter provides more thermal capacity with a fixed air mass flow rate, while a larger tube diameter can enhance the system's COP. An increase in tube depths causes the outlet air temperatures to decrease/increase in summer/winter, with a smaller daily oscillation. Compared to PVC and PE, stainless steel can be recommended as the most appropriate tube material, taking into account both heat exchange and soil pressure. Polyurethane, rubber or rock wool as insulation materials can be used as thermal barriers to shield the undesirable heat gains from the shallow soil with the almost same insulation effects. A thickness of 30 mm and a length of from 4 to 5 m can be recommended as the most appropriate insulation parameters for this proposed system.

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Vertical earth-to-air heat exchanger (VEAHE) systems have smaller land occupation and more efficient usage of geothermal energy than conventional earth-to-air heat exchanger (EAHE) systems. However, a large fluctuation in its outlet air temperature subject to ambient air temperature variations may occur, preventing it from meeting the indoor thermal comfort requirements. To address this issue, a novel VEAHE system integrated with annular phase change material (PCM) was proposed. The PCM can reduce the outlet air temperature fluctuation due to its ability to store and release energy. To evaluate its thermal performance, a numerical model was developed and validated by experimental data. The results showed a good agreement between the simulated and monitored data, with a maximum absolute relative error of 1.59% and 1.34% for the outlet air and PCM temperature, respectively. Then the validated model was applied to investigate the effects of PCM and its parameters on the system's thermal performance. Results showed that the annular PCM can decrease the outlet air temperature fluctuation of the system without PCM by 31% and 29% under air velocities of 1 m/s and 2 m/s respectively, enabling more stable outlet air temperatures to be achieved. The effect of PCM thermal conductivity depended heavily on the PCM thickness. Improving the system's thermal performance by simply increasing PCM thermal conductivity may not be an effective method, particularly when the PCM thickness was relatively small. As the PCM thickness exceeded 5 mm, an increase in the PCM thickness had a relatively small effect on the variation of outlet air temperatures. The outlet air temperature range decreased with the increase of PCM lengths, while a downward trend in the fluctuation decrease can be observed. In addition, an economic analysis of the proposed system was conducted, indicating that its static payback period was 20.8 years.@en

In this study, a new vertical earth-to-air heat exchanger (VEAHE) system coupled with tubular phase change material (PCM) components was proposed. The proposed system has smaller occupied areas and higher geothermal energy use efficiency than traditional EAHE systems. Moreover, the tubular PCM component enables the system's air temperature at the outlet to be more stable, thereby enhancing the system's thermal performance. In particular, the tubular components' simple geometry, easy fabrication, convenient assembling-disassembling and low-cost facilitate their usage in practical applications. To explore the system's thermal performance, an experimental set-up was established and its numerical model was developed. Then the model was verified through a comparison between the system's simulated and monitored air temperatures at the outlet. The verification produced acceptable results with the maximum absolute relative error of 1.33%. Based on this model, the influences of the tubular PCM component, tube depth, PCM conductivity and container length on the proposed system's thermal performance were investigated. Results indicated that the tubular PCM components can effectively reduce the VEAHE system's air temperature peak and fluctuation at the outlet, and increase its average cooling capacity. For the proposed system, as the tube depths increase from 12 to 24 m, the air temperature peak and fluctuation at the outlet decrease from 25.74 °C and 3.59 °C to 21.01 °C and 0.62 °C, respectively. Different thermal conductivity of PCM has almost same influences on the system's air temperature at the outlet as the container diameter is 50 mm. Such influences, however, become apparent and require to be considered as the container diameter increases to 150 mm. The air temperature fluctuation at the outlet decreases as the container lengths increase, and 12 m can be considered as an appropriate length for the proposed system. Additionally, the system's static payback period was calculated as 18.03 years.

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A vertical earth-to-air heat exchanger system (VEAHE) system was proposed in this study. Compared to conventional EAHE systems, it has smaller land use and higher geothermal energy utilization efficiency. To validate its thermal and economic feasibility, an experimental setup was established to examine the variation of its outlet air temperature, air temperature along the tube and soil temperature. Also, the energy metrics of the proposed system were calculated for its economic assessment. Results showed that the outlet air temperature of this system ranged from 22.4 °C to 24.4 °C in summer and from 16.0 °C to 18.0 °C in winter. A detailed air temperature profile along the whole tube revealed that, the air temperature difference under 5 m in deep soil was more than twice as many as that from the inlet to 5 m. For the soil temperature at different depths, its recovery rate approximately equaled to the corresponding changing rate at the same depth during operation. For the proposed system, its energy payback time was calculated as 8.2 years, and its CO2 emission mitigation potential and total carbon credits were calculated as 7170.42 kg and $203.43 respectively, given an economic lifespan of 20 years. In addition, its monetary payback period was calculated as 17.5 years. The above results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed system in exploiting deep ground soil as a natural heat sink/source in summer/winter. Meanwhile, the energy metrics analysis indicates that the proposed system is economically viable.@en

Integrating phase change material (PCM) into building envelopes significantly reduces building energy consumption and improves indoor environment. Among different integration techniques, macro-encapsulation allows for an efficient, safe and convenient way of using PCM, and its applications have been widely investigated in recent years. However, this study argues that there is a lack of a systematic analysis regarding the thermal performance of macro-encapsulated PCM, particularly for building envelope applications. Also, a number of important issues have seldom been addressed such as material selection and PCM melting processes at a component level, and optimal locations at a system level. Such a research gap remains a barrier to architects and engineers succeeding at making rational decisions during building design stages, thereby achieving the optimal building performance. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of macro-encapsulated PCM and its integration into building envelopes. The discussion mainly includes: definition and material selection for PCM macro-encapsulation, common macro-encapsulation forms and PCM melting processes within these forms, the optimal locations of systems in building envelopes, and thermal performance enhancement for PCM and shells. In addition, the key issues in future studies are discussed. It is hoped that this comprehensive review will contribute to a deeper understanding of the design and application of macro-encapsulated PCM in building envelopes.@en