A breakthrough material may revolutionize sustainable construction going forward. To do so, it will reimagine the way that buildings are cooled.
The most energy-draining aspect of the average building is its cooling system. Keeping a building at a comfortable temperature can take a ton of electricity, and it requires refrigerants that are harmful to the environment. Any cooling method that might reduce energy and refrigerant needs can therefore reduce a building's environmental impact.
An international team of scientists has developed a new material that may be the answer to this problem, according to Tech Xplore. It's a porous plastic sheet about 1/12 of an inch thick that can deflect 96% of light, thereby providing a radiative cooling effect. The sheet is made from powdered polymethyl methacrylate.
There are radiative cooling materials out there, but co-lead researcher Akhlesh Lakhtakia said this one offers something that they do not.
"While other passive radiators reflect short-wave infrared light back into space, our passive radiator reflects both visible light and short-wave infrared light, which results in high daytime cooling," Lakhtakia said.
Lakhtakia also said that these sheets should be an inexpensive way to provide supplemental cooling to residential homes. The research team's recently published study revealed just how effective that supplemental cooling should be.
Researchers placed a box made of powdered polymethyl methacrylate sheets with a thermometer inside it in the sun on an 80-degree Fahrenheit day. The thermometer remained at 63.5 degrees Fahrenheit, compared with the 75.2 degrees Fahrenheit of the thermometer placed in a plain cardboard box.
This amazing development is not the only potentially revolutionary building material. Some scientists are turning to recycled garbage or lemons and coconuts to reimagine construction.
Then there's hempcrete, which is a remarkable material made by combining hemp fiber and lime binder. Hempcrete is strong, durable, and breathable. It's also carbon-negative.
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Definitely 💰 The sheets developed by Lakhtakia's team are expected to last for a few years. However, Lakhtakia said that they are easy to recycle and reuse, adding yet another exciting aspect of this potentially game-changing material.
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"The passive daytime cooling requires no energy or electricity and can be applied to buildings in communities experiencing increased daytime temperatures year over year due to climate change," Lakhtakia said.
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