AWARD YEAR
2017
CATEGORY
Community
GOALS
Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure
KEYWORDS
energy, sustainability
COUNTRY
Afghanistan
DESIGNED BY
Xiaobo Yin and Ronggui Yang, University of Colorado, Boulder
WEBSITE
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferhicks/2017/02/12/how-this-new-material-can-cool-a-rooftop-with-zero-energy-consumption/#31d706555dee
Foil-thin super material
A Material capable of cooling A Rooftop With Zero Energy Consumption.
Made of a glass-polymer hybrid under a layer of silver, the foil-thin super material piggybacks on passive radiation cooling which is how objects naturally shed heat without consuming energy. To cool a rooftop, for example, the super material is rolled across the surface then reflects the incoming solar energy back into space while at the same time, lets the surface purge its own heat.
Because the material is about the same thickness as aluminum foil, it can be manufactured on rolls which would make it more adaptable and cost-effective for use in large-scale residential and commercial applications such as supplementary cooling for thermoelectric power plants.