This technology is a building insulation device that places a case containing phase-change material into the wall cavity of an exterior wall. It features a reflective material—comprising plate-type reflective sections that bounce off radiant heat and plate-type transmissive sections that allow it to pass through—connected in a closed loop around the case and rotated by a power unit.
Phase-change materials have been used for building insulation and energy savings by storing large amounts of heat as latent heat, but they cannot autonomously control the direction of heat absorption and release. Consequently, on summer nights when the outdoors is hotter than the indoors, they release heat accumulated during the day into the interior, which can inadvertently increase the cooling load.
Based on the temperature difference between the indoors and outdoors, the control unit operates the power unit. On summer days, it positions the aluminum reflective section toward the exterior of the wall to reduce the heat absorbed by the phase-change material; at night, it moves the reflective section toward the interior to prevent released heat from entering the building. The power unit consists of an annular belt inside the reflective material, a pair of pulleys on the case mounts, and a drive motor. The case is secured in the wall cavity using protrusions and insertion holes on a base plate, along with an upper bracket. Applicable to exterior walls of apartment complexes and office buildings, zero-energy buildings, and renovations of detached houses in regions with high diurnal temperature ranges, this system actively manages the heat flow of phase-change materials based on the season and time of day, reducing sensible heating and cooling loads while allowing for thinner wall profiles with equivalent performance.
This invention was developed through the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s project for the development of smart exterior material and equipment convergence technology, the establishment of performance evaluation systems, and demonstration support for the realization of zero-energy buildings.
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