Game-changing cooling tech: New passive panels keep homes cooler without power

The portal Canadian Architect reports that scientists from the aforementioned universities have developed a new standard for passive building cooling. This solution is particularly advantageous in regions such as California, where standard air conditioners are often essential due to high temperatures.

Although conventional air conditioners are very effective, their operation has a negative environmental impact because they require large amounts of electrical energy. Researchers from McGill, UCLA, and Princeton have designed a system that allows interior cooling without electricity. How is this possible, and how does such air conditioning work?

This project develops the concept of passive building cooling, which has been studied since the 1960s. At that time, French engineer Felix Trombe created buildings whose cooling was achieved through a facade made of semi-transparent material, allowing infrared radiation to pass through. Behind such a facade was a system for extracting heated air from the interior.

The new method described by the Canadian Architect is much simpler and, at the same time, more efficient. The technology uses a mirrored coating material that, when placed on a building's roof, reflects thermal radiation instead of absorbing it. The result is the protection of interiors from excessive heating.

Scientists' research has confirmed that using these innovative panels allows for maintaining the temperature inside a building to be several degrees lower than the outside temperature. Importantly, this was achieved without disrupting air circulation in the rooms. Experiments showed that in rooms with the panels applied, temperatures were 15-16°F lower compared to standard passive cooling methods.