One of the biggest habits of people during the summer is, without a doubt, turning on the air conditioning. With the arrival of high temperatures, the use of these ventilation systems is becoming more and more recurrent, which unfortunately has an impact on the environment and on the electricity bill.
To mitigate this problem, Yi Zheng, a nanomaterials expert and professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at Boston, has designed a “cooling paper” that reflects heat off rooftops and even absorbs heat from houses and buildings with the goal of sustainably controlling the indoor temperature.
This new invention can reduce the interior temperature by up to 12 degrees, without the need to use electricity. It is presented as an ecological solution both for its reduction in energy consumption and for the fact that it is a totally recyclable material. Furthermore, after being used it can be used again without losing any of its cooling properties. “We thought maybe there would be a 10 or 20% loss, but no,” confesses Zheng.
This paper-based compound not only reflects the sun’s rays to prevent heating, but also “expels” internal heat produced by electronic devices or by people themselves. This is thanks to the porous microstructure of its natural fibers, which absorb heat and send it outside.
Zheng’s eyes lit up when he saw a bucket full of printing paper. She then wondered if there could be a way to transform that waste into a useful material. And it was when she, with the help of a blender, mixed it with the material to produce Teflon and found a water-repellent compound with surprising cooling capacities.
Zheng envisions this material not only covering the roofs of houses, warehouses and office buildings, but also lowering utility bills through his research. He also hopes that his work will help combat climate change. “The ultimate goal is to reduce global warming,” she says.
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