International News
INNOVATIVE BUILDING MATERIALS WILL MODERATE TEMPERATURES YEAR-ROUND
By UNSW Sydney
The next generation of super-cooling materials can help keep cities cooler in summer and warmer in winter .
team from UNSW Sydney has developed new intelligent
A building materials that can help keep the temperature in check throughout the seasons . The innovative design adjusts the optical properties used in conventional heat mitigation materials ( coatings for buildings ) to change the amount of heat they reflect and emit depending on the temperature in the air .
The new materials were designed by Scientia Professor Mat Santamouris , Anita Lawrence Chair High in Performance Architecture at the School of Built Environment , UNSW Arts , Design & Architecture . He says the new materials could be used worldwide in buildings to help better protect them from the elements .
“ This is a smart , intelligent building material that understands the urban temperature , and it is modulated according to the weather conditions … so it is ideal for cities that have issues with overheating in summer , but also have heating requirements during winter ,” Santamouris says .
Santamouris specialises in developing heat mitigation technologies and strategies that decrease urban temperatures in cities worldwide . Extreme urban heat is the most documented climate change phenomenon affecting more than 450 cities worldwide . Higher urban temperatures significantly increase energy consumption needs and adverse impacts on health , including heat-related morbidity and mortality .
His team recently tested the new generation of materials in Kolkata , India , in an international collaboration with colleagues from the University of Calcutta India , Public University of Navarra Spain and the University of Tsukuba Japan . The study is the latest in their ARC Discovery Project , Fluorescent Daytime Radiative Cooling for Urban Heat Mitigation , which aims to develop cooling technologies to mitigate urban overheating and reduce cooling energy demands in buildings .
THERMAL COMFORT THROUGH THE SEASONS While many conventional cooling materials help mitigate urban overheating during warmer periods , they ’ re not necessarily suitable for cities that have winter heating requirements . Furthermore , because the materials reflect light , they can generate glare , and can only be used in specific locations .
David Mark | Pixabay
The new materials used to coat buildings could help moderate temperatures in summer and winter .
www . hvacronline . co . za RACA Journal I April 2022 9