Peningkatan Performa Termal Bangunan dengan Menggunakan Atap UPVC Berbasis PCM Paraffin Wax dan Bees Wax

Abstract

Indonesia is a tropical country characterized by relatively high air temperatures, which can reach 35 °C, and relative humidity levels of up to 80%. These conditions highlight the need for an effective passive cooling system to improve indoor thermal comfort. This study aims to analyze and compare the effectiveness of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) based on paraffin wax and beeswax in reducing roof and indoor temperatures. PCMs function by absorbing and releasing latent heat through phase-change processes, including liquid–gas and solid–solid transitions, known as Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage (LHTES). An experimental method was employed, with temperature measurements digitally recorded using an Arduino IDE-based system. Temperature measurements were taken at several predetermined points to evaluate the thermal performance characteristics of each PCM variation. The experimental results showed that the roof without PCM resulted in an indoor temperature of 44.8 °C. The use of 100% beeswax reduced the indoor temperature by 4.36%. Meanwhile, a mixture of 75% paraffin wax and 25% beeswax achieved a temperature reduction of 5.39%. The best performance was obtained using a mixture of 50% paraffin wax and 50% beeswax, which reduced the temperature by up to 12.7%. Overall, the application of PCM reduced the indoor temperature by up to 2.36 °C compared with the condition without PCM. These results demonstrate that PCM has the potential to serve as an alternative passive cooling material for improving thermal comfort, particularly in buildings located in tropical climates.