Abstract
Addressing the current global warming issues and carbon dioxide emission, the prime objective of the construction industry sector today is to develop energy-efficient environmentally friendly techniques to reduce thermal fluctuation inside buildings. Because phase change material (PCM) has good energy storage and release capacity, many researchers have shown interest in implementing PCM to increase thermal inertia of various building materials such as concrete, mortar, and gypsum board. PCM-incorporated building material is reported to reduce building energy consumption, shift peak energy demand, and reduce thermal swing, leading to improved thermal comfort inside the building. In addition to the aforementioned benefits, there are several other economic benefits and environmental benefits, as discussed in various sections in this paper. Although the use of PCM in buildings has a lot of advantages, it has some negative impacts on fresh state properties, mechanical behavior, and durability-related properties of building materials. However, it is to be noted that the extent of negative impact is dependent on the type of PCM, incorporation technique, dosage of PCM, and encapsulation material, which are also critically reviewed in this paper. To summarize, this paper provides a systematic classification of the literature on PCM in building materials in terms of properties of different types of PCM; PCM incorporation methods; effect of PCM on fresh state, mechanical, durability, and thermal properties of concrete; and various benefits of PCM. This paper also provides structured insight into various issues that hamper PCM’s robustness and commercial viability in buildings. Furthermore, challenges and recommendations are provided by summarizing the significant research gaps from the literature.