New nanotech to cool down buildings

New Construction Trend

 

 Many of us live in places where air conditioning is a must, but it is also expensive and adds to energy bills. Now, scientists have found a way to cool down buildings using a particular material that can store and release energy. Scientists say this can significantly impact energy industry in future.

The new material, which is less than 2 microns thick, is made of several layers, with hafnium oxide and silicon dioxide laid on top of every layer. The material has unique properties and can combine solar reflection and radiation. In other words, the material can cool down the area in two ways. It can either reflect sunlight or radiate heat from inside of a structure. Then the heat is sent to space.

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The scientists say the material can be made in facilities that already exist and it does not require complex technologies to produce. What is especially great about this technology is it's the reverse of solar energy. Unlike solar energy, this material using coldness of an area, and it is renewable.

This new approach allows scientists to tune the infrared thermal radiation and solar reflection adequately. Researchers also compare it with a window into space. This should reduce energy consumption, carbon dioxide emission, and dependency on heating systems.

Future potential

This new material is another example of the complacency of the modern energy industry. Scientists are searching for more effective ways to do things that require a lot of energy generated from fuels.

The combination of energy storage, renewable energy, and newest technologies and materials like this will continue to influence the energy industry and lead to some players in the industry changing the way they do business, maybe even within a couple of years.

Sources:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160727124912.htm