Researchers at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) have designed a temperature-sensing building material that changes color based on outside temperatures. This new technology is being hailed as the “chameleon” of construction materials and could revolutionize the way we build and manage energy in buildings. Let’s take a closer look at how this temperature-sensing material works.
This new building material is composed of nanocrystals embedded in a polymer. When the temperature outside rises or falls, these nanocrystals change their infrared color—and how much heat they absorb or emit—according to the outside temperature. On hot days, the material can emit up to 92 percent of the infrared heat it contains, helping cool down inside buildings. On colder days, however, the material emits just 7 percent of its infrared, trapping heat inside and helping keep buildings warm. This means that no matter what time of year it is or what kind of weather there is outside, your facility will be able to adjust its temperature accordingly with minimal energy used.
The researchers behind this revolutionary new building material note that this technology has great potential to save energy and money for both large commercial buildings as well as residential homes. Not only can this chameleon-like material help regulate temperatures in buildings without having to run air conditioners or heating systems for long periods of time, but it can also reduce reliance on those systems altogether. Asst. Prof. Po-Chun Hsu notes that “we’ve essentially figured out a low-energy way to treat a building like a person; you add a layer when you’re cold and take off a layer when you’re hot.” This means less energy used overall and more efficient use of existing resources for keeping your home or business comfortable all year round!
The team at PME has created something truly amazing with this new temperature-sensing building material. This revolutionary chameleon-like technology can help regulate temperatures in homes and businesses without relying on air conditioners and heating systems for long periods of time. This new technology could prove game-changing in terms of both our energy consumption habits as well as our everyday financial costs associated with regulating temperatures within our dwellings -all while helping us become more sustainable overall! If you’re interested in learning more about this cutting-edge technology, make sure to check out all the research published in Nature Sustainability!
