Researchers around the world have created alternatives to bring the building sector into line with sustainable development, starting with the reduction of energy consumption.
Although building sector processes are standardized and guarantee safety in modern construction, the urgency of implementing actions that contribute to sustainable development in the face of climate change makes it necessary to invent alternatives that reduce the impact of this activity on the environment.
Aware of this, researchers around the world have used their ingenuity to create sustainable materials, in some cases multifunctional, that contribute to sustainable construction through energy savings. Here are five of these:
Smart windows
Since 2013, researchers have been working on films developed with nanotechnology to be applied to windows, which allow regulating the amount of light that passes through them and thus reduce the temperature of the place by up to five degrees Celsius, which translates into energy savings by reducing the use of ventilation devices such as fans and air conditioners. According to the creators, it also reduces the risk of skin cancer by partially blocking solar radiation filtering into the home.
One of the first versions of this technology was devised at the Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico) and recently the prototype at Princeton University (United States) has stood out, which also allows the window to be controlled through mobile applications. The next step is to create a more flexible version, applicable to the windows of homes already built. (You can read: Expensive bills? Tips to reduce energy payments).
Cooling bricks
With the same goal of reducing the temperature inside houses and apartments, students at the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (Spain) devised hydroceramics, also known as cooling bricks, which capture water inside to make buildings cooler.
This material is composed of two layers of clay and a layer of hydrogel between them, which has the capacity to absorb up to 500 times its weight in water. The absorbed liquid is released by evaporation when the temperature rises, which is why cooling bricks are ideal for residential buildings in hot climates. (You may be interested in: Keys to save energy at home).
Transparent wood, the replacement for glass?
Among the benefits of translucent wood are thermal and acoustic insulation, it is biodegradable and requires less polluting gases in its production process, compared to the materials it can replace.
Cement to illuminate buildings
Illuminating the pathways of common areas in apartment buildings without the need for lamps or streetlights seems impossible, but that is the question solved by phosphorescent cement that absorbs light during the day and radiates it at night. It was developed by an academic at the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo (Mexico) and has a wide range of use in the construction sector, since in addition to its traditional use it functions as a solar energy generator.
The key to phosphorescent cement is that it is created from the polycondensation of various elements such as sand, clay and earth and lasts up to a century. This innovative material was awarded the Newton Fund by the Royal Academy of Engineering in London, UK, for its contribution to engineering worldwide.
Super white paint
It is known that black absorbs light, while white reflects it. In search of enhancing this property, researchers at Purdue University (USA) invented what has been called the whitest or cooling acrylic paint, with the ability to reflect up to 95% of the light that hits the surfaces it covers.
The mission of this creation: to keep cool or prevent the heating of buildings and in general of infrastructures containing equipment that generates heat, such as some that process data, reducing the use of ventilation sources.
