| Since the Industrial Revolution, human-generated CO2 and greenhouse gases (GHGs) have been the largest factors responsible for global warming trends. Household space heating has also been a major contributor to CO2 and GHG generation. Many nations have committed to keeping global warming below 2°C, a goal that would hypothetically prevent the most calamitous environmental events from occurring.;Achieving this substantial reduction of emissions would require a variety of strategies and resources. One is the Trombe wall, a passive solar system focused on trimming a household's energy expenditures. Implementing this system could significantly contribute to the goal of reducing global CO2 emissions.;This project's main objective is to evaluate the technical and environmental viability of using a Trombe wall embedded with a microencapsulated phase change material (PCM) for household heating.;The potential performance of a PCM-embedded Trombe wall has been calculated using numerical methods and typical-meteorological-year data for the Philadelphia area. The project involved performing a life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare construction options, with a goal of identifying impacts during the lifespan of the Trombe wall, and conducting a STEEP analysis for the system and its utilization.;The calculations show that it is technically feasible for a PCM-embedded Trombe wall system to provide approximately 60% of the annual heating needs of a room, and that the lifetime environmental impacts of the Trombe wall are smaller than impacts of heating using natural gas or electricity. |
