Energy analysis of a phase change material embedded heat exchanger for air conditioning load reduction in different Indian climatic zones

•Pin fin heat exchanger for minimum entropy generation model.•The study is conducted for three hot Indian climatic zones.•The heat exchanger design is employed with a conventional air conditioning system.•The heat exchanger provided for energy saving up to 4.7%. Air conditioning (AC) systems for tropical countries like India account for sixty percent of the total energy needs of a building. With the onset of COVID-19, the increase of fresh air ventilation rate has been recommended by various guidelines for indoor spaces which increase the load on the AC system. The present study attempts to reduce this burden through retrofitting a phase change material (PCM) embedded pin fin heat exchanger into an air-conditioning system. The heat exchanger is designed to cater to the peak load fluctuations for cities in three hot climatic zones of India, viz., Jaisalmer, Kolkata, and Delhi. Dodecanol with a melting temperature of 24 °C, is chosen as the appropriate PCM material for these locations. The optimal pin fin diameters are estimated through an entropy generation minimization analysis for the three locations. A heat transfer analysis of the PCM embedded heat exchanger is further presented through an analytical approach to estimate the PCM mass requirement and energy savings potential. The masses of the PCM estimated for Jaisalmer, Kolkata, and Delhi are 11.36 kg, 22.42 kg, and 19.35 kg, respectively for their respective peak load fluctuations of 0.25 kW, 0.28 kW and 0.48 kW. Energy savings of up to 4.7 % for Delhi, 2 % for Kolkata, and 2.75 % for Jaisalmer are identified with the PCM embedded heat exchanger incorporation. The results show the potential of such PCM thermal storage in reducing the peak energy demands of buildings amidst various environmental and health concerns.