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Roofs that change colour to save energy

Mihai AndreibyMihai Andrei
October 26, 2009 - Updated on October 28, 2013
in Environment, Inventions
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mit_thermeleon_colorchangingtiles When it’s really hot and sunny outside, a black roof gets really hot, while a white roof reflects rays from the sun and keeps the house cooler. During the wintertime, a black roof absorbs more heat and helps you save more energy, but in the summer, that can be a really pain. Luckily enough, some researchers at MIT developed roof tiles that change color depending on the outside temperature.

The tiles become white on a hot day and turn blackish when it’s cold outside. When white, the tiles reflect more than three quarters of the rays and when black, only about a quarter or so. However, the study is incomplete; they showed that a white roof can save 20 percent of present cooling costs, but were unable to quantify how much heating energy a black roof would save.

The tiles also shouldn’t be very expensive – they rely on a polymer that resembles that used in hair gels. When cooled, the polymer remains dissolved, allowing a black background to show through, and when warmed it forms tiny droplets that scatter light and produce a white surface. However, researchers report there is still a whole lot of work.

“It’s got to stand up to very harsh conditions,” said Nick Orf, a member of the team that calls itself Thermeleon (get it?). “Those sorts of tests would have to be done before we’ll know if we have a viable product.”

Tags: environmentpolymer

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Mihai Andrei

Mihai Andrei

Dr. Andrei Mihai is a geophysicist and founder of ZME Science. He has a Ph.D. in geophysics and archaeology and has completed courses from prestigious universities (with programs ranging from climate and astronomy to chemistry and geology). He is passionate about making research more accessible to everyone and communicating news and features to a broad audience.

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