Low-Temperature Applications of Phase Change Materials for Energy Storage: A Descriptive Review

Thermal storage is very relevant for technologies that make thermal use of solar energy, as well as energy savings in buildings. Phase change materials (PCMs) are positioned as an attractive alternative to storing thermal energy. This review provides an extensive and comprehensive overview of recent investigations on integrating PCMs in the following low-temperature applications: building envelopes, passive systems in buildings, solar collectors, solar photovoltaic systems, and solar desalination systems. Moreover, techniques for improving heat transfer in PCM systems are described. All applications studies indicate that all applications improve their performance when applying a PCM. One of the most beneficiated technologies is the combined PV-Thermal systems (PVT), where some authors reported an increase in overall efficiency greater than 40%.