Implementation of Phase Change Material in Commercial building envelope to reach nZEB

Abstract

Egypt now is going through a development path trying to overcome the energy crisis with the limited amount of energy resources and increasing demand. According to the rapid development of the country it is expected that the energy crisis come worse in the next few years, this mainly includes the building sector. More than 60% of the electrical energy is consumed by the existing building stock. Considering the building envelope in design, using efficient materials to adapt better to the external environmental conditions, relay on renewable resources and altering the occupants’ behavior concerning energy usage, are the main factors that improve the energy performance of buildings (Abdallah, 2017). The challenge for new buildings in Cairo is to raise the thermal comfort levels and keep the energy consumption low without repeating the mistakes of other cities (Attia, May 2012).