Phase Change Materials as Solution for Cooling Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort in Mosque Buildings

This study examines the effects of integrating phase change materials (PCM) into a mosque building envelope on thermal comfort, energy consumption and CO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> emissions in peak summer months in Yalova/Turkey, located in the 'Csa' Koppen-Geiger climate zone. Three configurations of 30 mm thick PCM (InfiniteRPCM25C) with a melting temperature of 25°C were examined: incorporation into the walls, the dome, and both components simultaneously. The results indicated that PCM significantly enhanced thermal performance by utilizing latent heat during phase transitions. In July and August, PCM integration reduced indoor air temperatures by up to 0.6°C and inner wall surface temperatures by up to 0.9°C. PCM improved thermal comfort by lowering the Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD) values, with reductions reaching 10%. The latent heat storage effect of PCM contributed to better temperature regulation, making it particularly effective in warmer periods. Higher energy savings were achieved when PCM was integrated into both the walls and the dome, leading to reductions of up to 16% in June. These findings highlighted the crucial role of latent heat storage in passive cooling strategies for buildings.