Energy-saving contribution of the thermochromic coating in exterior walls in hot-summer and cold-winter zone

Abstract: In this study, the improvement efficiency of the thermochromic coating was analyzed comprehensively on the thermal performance of exterior walls by regulating solar radiation absorptivity in the hot-summer and cold-winter zone. The heat transfer model with the dynamic radiation absorptivity was built by The ANSYS 16.0 software, while the heat transfer process of the exterior wall was simulated numerically in the whole year. Numerical results showed the thermochromic coating exerted the regulation ability on the solar radiation absorptivity with 80% to enhance the heat gain during winter and 20% to dampen the heat gain during summer. Due to the regulation ability of the thermochromic coating, the maximum and average temperatures in outer surfaces were increased by 1.68 °C ~ 6.96 °C and 1.24 °C ~ 1.92 °C in winter, while they were lowered by 13.10 °C ~ 13.45 °C and 3.09 °C ~ 4.42 °C in summer. The load reduction efficiency of the thermochromic coating was the most obvious in summer, followed by winter and the worst in the transition season. In the transition season, the thermochromic coating had the small benefit and even the negative effect on the wall thermal performance. From the view of the whole year, the cooling and heating loads were reduced by 10.93% and 16.36% respectively, due to employing the thermochromic coating.

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