The transition to clean energy is essential to reduce the fossil fuel dependence of buildings, especially for heating&cooling, which accounts for 1/3 of Europe’s total energy consumption. This study presents a novel air-PCM-water heat exchanger designed to enhance thermal autonomy. It uses two Phase Change Materials (PCMs) to store heat or cold, integrating a heat sink for efficient charging with water and fins for optimized airflow heat transfer. By Integrating 30 liters of each PCM in a 40-cell battery, we achieved a storage capacity of 4.6 kWh and charging powers of up to 6.2kW. The thermal discharge obtained by ventilating the battery gave peak powers of 1.3 kW stabilized at 800W during PCM solidification with airflows of 227m3/h. Cooling powers of 150W were obtained on a 3-PCM cells setup with airflows of 43m3/h. Finite element simulations of the heat transfer between the PCM and the airflow allowed to define of the evolution of the temperature profile for the PCM and the airflow in accordance with experimental measurements. Further simulations using a well-insulated reference house equipped with PV panels and a heat pump indicate that 3 such modules per apartment can ensure heating autonomy for more than 9 months per year. The modules can be ideally integrated into buildings undergoing renovation by replacing old radiators.
