Quest Journals Journal of Architecture and Civil Engineering Volume 6 ~ Issue 9 (2021) pp: 50-69 www.questjournals.org *Corresponding Author: Marwa EL YASSI 50 | Page University of Cergy-Pontoise & ECAM-EPMI Research Paper Integration of phase change materials in building walls: Passive cooling Marwa El Yassi 1,2 , Ikram El Abbassi 1,2 , Yannick Mélinge 1 , Alexandre Pierre 1 1 (Laboratory of Mechanics and Materials of Civil Engineering, University of Cergy-Pontoise) 2 (Research Laboratory in Industrial and Energy Eco-Innovation, ECAM-EPMI, Cergy) ABSTRACT: This paper focuses on new passive cooling techniques through the integration of phase change materials, known as PCMs, in the building sector. Various experimental and numerical studies in the literature show that with the help of phase change materials, room temperature fluctuations can be significantly reduced while improving the thermal comfort of the inhabitant. KEYWORDS: Phase change materials, thermal comfort, Building, Storage of thermal energy, Passive cooling. Received 25 August, 2021; Revised: 07 September, 2021; Accepted 09 September, 2021 © The author(s) 2021. Published with open access at www.questjournals.org I. INTRODUCTION The energy transition is an ecological objective on a global scale. This issue mainly consists in reducing the global energy consumption of the different sectors of activity. The building sector represents about 44% of the total energy consumption of residential and tertiary buildings in France [1], and about 32% of the energy consumption in the European Union [2], (Figure 1). In France, governmental actions have contributed to the implementation of several thermal regulations. The RT 2012 (RT2012) came into force in 2000, has brought a clear improvement in the building with an energy consumption of about 40 to 60 kWh/primary energy/square meter/year in 2013 instead of 150 - 450 kWh/primary energy/square meter/year in 2005 [3]. In order to meet the objectives defined by this regulation, to control and minimize the energy demand and the carbon footprint in this sector, the observations and results of numerous studies have led to the development of new and more sustainable building technologies such as the Zero Energy Building (NZEB) [3], [4], the integration of insulating materials with good thermal performance, or intelligent materials. This solution is of interest to the majority of builders who wish to control the indoor temperature range while respecting the well-being of the inhabitants and the requirements of the thermal regulations. Great attention has been paid to the use and choice of phase change materials, to respond to the increasing demand for energy. Indeed, the addition of this material in the building presents a way to store thermal energy and reuse it in order to control temperatures in a specific range and therefore, improve the thermal comfort of the inhabitants. Previous research has been done on the integration of PCMs for thermal storage as well as its application in the building [5 -11] [85] [86]. Thus, it would be interesting to see all the desirable properties for the selection of PCMs, advantages, disadvantages of these materials and different experimental/numerical studies in the field of construction, especially in the building sector. The objective of this study is to draw up a bibliographical study on the various tests carried out on the application of PCMs, mainly in the building wall.