Passive Cooling Catalogue

Phase Change Material Products Limited

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PlusICETM

Phase Change MaterialsPhase Change MaterialsPassive CoolingPassive Cooling

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THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE;Thermal Energy Storage (TES) is the temporary storage of high or lowtemperature energy for later use. It bridges the gap between energyrequirement and energy use. A thermal storage application may involve a24 hour or alternatively a weekly or seasonal storage cycle depending onthe system design requirements. Whilst the output is always thermal, theinput energy may be either thermal or electrical.

Phase Change Materials (PCMs) are products that store and releasethermal energy during the process of melting & freezing (changing from onephase to another). When such a material freezes, it releases large amountsof energy in the form of latent heat of fusion, or energy ofcrystallisation. Conversely, when the material is melted, an equal amount ofenergy is absorbed from the immediate environment as it changes fromsolid to liquid.

For the majority of applications, PCM solutions have to be encapsulated in sealed containers. To this end, PCM Products Ltd. havedeveloped many different standard type containers as well as custom-made containers for special applications. Thesecontainers can be applied to any water or air based TES systems and can be manufactured using our PlusICE Phase Change

Materials (PCM) solutions which have operating temperatures between -40OC (-40OF) and +117 OC (+243 OF).

TubeICETM FEATURES;TubeICE concept is based on custom-made plastic containers filled with ourPlusICE Phase Change Materials (PCM) solutions which have operating

temperatures between -40ºC (-40ºF) and +117 ºC (+243 ºF). They can be stackedin either cylindrical or rectangular tanks for atmospheric / pressurized systems fora variety of thermal energy storage applications.

Once the TubeICE containers are filled with PCM they weigh between 2~3 kg(4.4~6.6 lbs) each depending on PCM type and by simply using standard 50mm(2”) pipe brackets they can be suspended from the ceiling area to act like a heatabsorbing sponge to soak up the rising heat within the enclosure.

Using conventional bracket systems it is possible to hang 12 TubeICE containersper m2 ceiling area and the overall total weight could be in the region of 40kg andin return these tubes can provide anywhere between 1.7 ~2.2 kWh/m2 (0.046~0.057TRh/ft2) energy depending on the PCM type.

Although TubeICE containers are manufactured in 50mm (2”) diameter by 1,000 mm(~40”) lengths, any other size or shape containers can be manufactured to suit the siterequirements. Please consult our technical team for any special and custom-madeapplications.

TubeICE Bracket

Direct Bracket Concealed Bracket

NATURAL ALTERNATIVE TO REDUCE ENERGY

Although it is possible to apply 12 TubeICE perm2 (~1 TubeICE / ft2) within the ceiling areabut as the same area is also used for otherservices, the practical limit for the passivecooling modules free area could be anywherebetween 40~70% of the ceiling area.

Design Example;Lets say we have a 100 m2 (1,000 ft2)office space and using 27ºC (81ºF) PCM in 1m(~40”) long TubeICE which provides us with0.145 kWh (0.041 TRh) thermal energystorage. Using standard brackets one canaccommodate 12 Tube ice per m2 (12 TubeICEper 10ft2). Using standard brackets one canaccommodate 12 Tube ice per m2

(12 TubeICE per 10ft2). In other words,every 1m2 (10ft2) areacovered with TubeICEfilled with 27ºC (81ºF)PCM provides 1.74kWh (0.49 TRh) energystorage for theoccupied space area.

Pendle Vale School,Lancs., UK

TubeICEbehindTiles

Solar House,PassiveCooling

USA

University of Westminster, LondonPassive Office Cooling

Nottingham UniversityPassive Cooling Units

TubeICE Beamswithin the false ceiling area

INNOVATION FOR ENERGY SAVING TECHNOLOGIES

Charge Period •Night Hours Discharge Period •Daylight HoursOur wide range of PlusICEsolutions offer numerous airconditioning and comfort coolingapplications. PlusICE solutions arealso successfully applied forpassive cooling applications suchas chilled ceiling / cooling towerfree cooling circuits as well as heatrejection systems. Passive coolingrelies on naturally occurring nightand day time temperature swings.The cool energy availableover-night is stored within the PCMand later the stored energy is usedto absorb the internal and solarheat gains during day-time for anenergy free passive cooling system.

BUILDING SERVICES PASSIVE COOLING APPLICATIONS

Assuming one can only cover 50% of the ceilingarea with TubeICE, the design providesapproximately 87 kWh (24.7 TR-h) energy storagecapacity for 100 m2 (1,000 ft2) space.

As long as the occupied space temperature goesbelow 20~22 ºC (70~74ºF) over-night, that would bemore than enough to freeze the 27ºC (81ºF) PCMsolution and in return this stored free energy is usedto absorb heat from the occupied area duringday-time.

If the high level ceiling temperature during peakday-time remains 4~6 hours above 27ºC (81ºF)PCM which acts like a heat sponge to soak up theheat and that means the stored passive energycould provide as much as equivalent to a 15~22 kW(4.3~6.2 TR) mechanical cooling system.

FABRIC ENERGY STORAGE;Many organic solutions can be converted to dust, granule, powder or even rubber

forms thereby offering new horizons toaccommodate and embed the PCMsolution as part of the building fabric andfaçade. The addition of as little as 25%PCM into the building fabric increases thebuilding thermal performance 14 times incomparison with the same amount ofconventional building materials.As almost all organic solutions do notcause any concern for corrosion they canbe simply mixed with the building materials as part of thefabric both externally and internally. Alternatively, PCM mixturecan be incorporated as part of the furnishing.

Any passive cooling entirely relies on the temperature swing between day and night and as such the selection of the PCMtemperature is critical to stay within the middle of high day-time and low night-timetemperatures. By simply utilising free cold energy absorbed during night-time used to coolthe space during high ambient periods, i.e. during day-time, or alternatively storing the hotenergy during day-time and utilising this stored free energy during night cold periods, one cansimply stabilise the space temperature swing and minimise or may even completely eliminatethe energy usage.

ENCLOSURE PASSIVE COOLING APPLICATIONS

Electrical components generate heat whilst running, if thesecomponents are housed in a confined space, the internaltemperature of the enclosure can rise well above the upperoperational limit of the components, resulting in either shut downor burn out for the system. This is exacerbated if the enclosure isexposed to solar gains, for example in telecom shelters, gaspipeline stations or exposed control panels etc..Hence, if these

electrical enclosures / shelters / mobile phone transmitting boxes arelocated near to a power source, they are provided with 100% run /stand-by mechanical cooling systems for a safe and reliable operation allyear round. However, if the same enclosures are located in remote areaswhereby no electricity source is available, one can run the electronicsusing solar energy / battery set up BUT solar energy can not run amechanical cooling system.

A passive coolingsystem reliessimply on theswing betweenday and nightambienttemperatures andby simply storingnight free coldenergy to useduring day-time tokeep the shelterinside temperaturebelow the designlimits.

TubeICEShelter Passive Cooling

45oCShelter Cells

Tubes

Furniture

Seats

Beads

Rubber

Granule

3030ooCC 5555ooCC

Telecom Shelter Back-up

NATURAL ALTERNATIVE TO REDUCE ENERGY

TELECOM SHELTERS PASSIVE COOLINGIf the telecom shelters are located in remote areas, one can run the electronic systems usingsolar PV cells and battery packs without the mains power but as the mechanical coolingrequires far greater power requirements than the electronic solar power driven mechanicalcooling it is almost impossible to operate. Heat generated by the electronics plus the solar gainsduring day time results in the enclosure temperatures exceeding the upper safety limit of theelectronic circuits and as result the system shuts down for safety.

By simply storing the cold night-time energy in theform of passive cooling PCM beams one canover-come this over heating risk. As the energy isnaturally stored free of any primary energy usesuch as gas, oil or electricity it has no running cost.As there are no moving parts, it is alsomaintenance free and at the end of its useful life itcan be fully recycled or disposed of without anyenvironmental issues.

PCM can be encapsulated either in TubeICE orBeams or any other suitable formats andpositioned at high level within the shelter to act aspassive cooling modules.

ELECTRICAL PANEL PASSIVE COOLINGAll electrical components and batteries generate heat during normaloperation and when these components are placed in air tight or evenventilated spaces the heat generated by the components accumulateswithin the enclosure and can cause over-heating problems.

In order to overcome this over-heating risk a PCM passive coolingconcept can be applied to regulate the internal temperatures andensure that the enclosure stays within the design limits.

REMOTE PUMP STATIONS PASSIVE COOLINGMain oil or gas pipeline pumps andmonitoring stations are generallylocated in very remote areas wherebythe mains power is generally notavailable. PCM Products haveworked with many large,petrochemical companies developing custom-made passive coolingapplications for their pipeline remote location shelter and electrical /control panels providing either back-up cooling for the mechanicalcooling plant or alternatively a stand alone passive cooling systemsimply utilising the cool night-time energy to keep the enclosure belowits upper operating limit during day-timeoperation.

COMPUTERROOMSBACKUPPASSIVECOOLINGIt is common practice to install 100%stand-by air conditioning units for any shelter andcomputer / data installation but the lack of regular operating hours for stand-by unitsresults in very high maintenance and the risk of non-starter units.PCM based passive cooling back up units operate whereby the standardmechanical cooling charges the PCM-based secondary unit and in the event of powerfailure or long weekend periods with no central A/C supply, the PCM-based unitrequires only a small DC/AC power provided from the back up system to circulate theair and the energy stored within the PCM can keep the enclosure below its upperlimits up to 4~6 hours without any mains power requirement.

TypicalTelecomShelter Passive Cooling

TubeICETubeICE

PCPCM BeamsM Beams

LIBYANLIBYANDESERTDESERT

PASSIVE COOLING SHELTERPASSIVE COOLING SHELTER

14 kWh14 kWh(4 Ton-hr)(4 Ton-hr)

BACK-UP MODULEBACK-UP MODULE

UK KSA


TubeICE

TECHNICAL SUPPORTPCM Products offers full system design support to assist in proper selection andintegration into existing or new installations as well as product development servicesfrom conception to completion as part of our customer commitment.We offer full consultancy on product development on a strict confidentiality basisand the possibility of Licensee, know-how and technology transfer options for local

manufacturing. Please consult our technical sales team at [email protected] your specific application or visit our website www.pcmproducts.net

©2013 Phase Change Material Products Ltd.Printed in England

Passive Cooling 2013-1

ELECTRONIC PASSIVE COOLING APPLICATIONSWhen main circuit boards and processors are in operation, they generate considerableheat and if this heat is not removed it accumulates within the confined space and thesurrounding temperature rises and if it goes above the maximum operating limit of theelectronics (generally +45 OC (112 OF)) the system shuts itself down from the safetyprotection units.

By selecting a PCM that changes phase at a temperature between ambient and the upperoperational limit, cool energy can be stored during unused periods. Later this storedenergy acts like a heat sponge to soak up the heat from the circuit. Heat generated by theelectrical equipment is absorbed by the PCM and in return the enclosure temperature ismaintained below the upper limit of the system for a safe and reliable operation.

In particular, organic solutions are non-conductive as well as non-corrosive and thereforethey are safe to contact directly any electrical component. The recently developedthermoformed version of our organic PCM solutions or solid-solid PCM products can bemoulded into any shape and as it does not turn liquid even during phase change it offersa leak and effectively risk free operation. Alternatively, PCM solutions can beencapsulated in either metal or plastic containers / pouches to act as heat sinks to suit avariety of temperature range and applications.

DATA PROTECTIONWhen a data logger is placed in excessively hot locations likeengine tests, ovens, furnaces etc., it may be exposed totemperatures greater than the recommended maximum operating temperatures.Some loggers can cope as high as 110 OC (240 OF) but beyond that they aredamaged beyond repair. Insulation delays this heat conduction and offers limitedtime, but by simply adding PCM as part of the insulation kit the standard time delayof this heat migration can be increased by as much as 10~20 times and effectivelythe logger can be kept within the high temperature environment far longer than byusing conventional insulation alone. A number of manufacturers offer safes for databack up. Although they offer protection against direct combustion of thecontent, the internal temperature of the safe mayrise to excessive levels if exposed to fire for anylength of time. This can render sensitive storagemedia such as data disks, tapes, CDs and DVDsuseless. By simply incorporating a PCM thermalshield into the safe, the contents can beprotected from the outside temperatures formuch longer.

BATTERY COOLINGDuring their charging and discharging periods all batteries generate heat and if the batteries are locatedwithin a sealed enclosure this heat can become excessive. The higher the temperature the greater the lifeof the battery is reduced. Additionally, the holding power as well as the output during discharge arereduced significantly. By simply incorporating PCM heat sinks which are charged under standard ambientconditions and later this stored PCM energy absorbs the heat generated by the batteries during charging or dischargingperiods. PCM heat sinks overcome the fluctuation of the battery temperatures which can be stabilised for a reliable, safeoperation and extended life.

HEATHEATSHIELDSHIELD

DATASAFEDATASAFE

BATTERYBATTERYCELLCELL

ENCLOSUREENCLOSURECOOLINGCOOLING

PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL PRODUCTS LIMITEDUnit 32, Mere View Industrial Estate, Yaxley, Cambridgeshire, PE7 3HS, United Kingdom

Tel: +44-(0)-1733 245511 Fax:+44-(0)-1733 243344 e-mail:[email protected] www.pcmproducts.net


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