New building material self regulates heat

[marchesarosa]

Unique new building material self regulates heat
Posted on August 3, 2011 by Anthony Watts

Scientific breakthrough: University invents heat-regulating building material

In a major scientific breakthrough with important long-term environmental consequences, researchers at The University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) have developed a material that will cut the amount of energy a building uses by more than one-third.

The material has the remarkable quality of being able to retain and release heat according to the specific temperature requirements for a building and will help dramatically reduce heating and cooling bills.

It has the unique advantage of possessing a larger energy storage capacity with faster thermal response than existing materials and could be cheaply manufactured.

more here
wattsupwiththat.com/2011/08/03/unique-new-building-material-self-regulates-heat/#more-44545

[principled]

Marchesa
On the surface, this seems to be and excellent step forward, I hope Nottingham release more info after the material is patented. This is the type of research that I don't mind funding...instead we put bucket loads of cash into wind farms! doh
P

[jonjel]

Principled.

I don't very often open links but I did with that one.

I was quite interested until I read further and discovered that there is a proposal to manufacture the stuff so it can be spray painted onto the wall.

Allowing for even a very thick coat of paint, say 0.5mm, how do they surmise that a thin skin can absorb that much mass of heat energy from a room?

If it were bricks I would be non-sceptical, but paint and wall paper?

[StuartG]

"The University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC)"

Downloadable video [mp4] of the University.

www.podfeed.net/episode/China+Daily+focus+on+our+campus+in+Ningbo+China/2990871

or...

wirksworthii.nottingham.ac.uk/Podcasts/files/rmg/public/IntOffice/nick_miles.mp4

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"Researchers develop heat-regulating building material"

12 July 2011

www.theengineer.co.uk/sectors/civil-and-structural/news/researchers-develop-heat-regulating-building-material/1009367.article

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"Professor Jo Darkwa, Research Associate Oliver Su and PhD student Tony Zhou with their heat-regulating material"

www.gizmag.com/heat-regulating-building-material/19413/picture/139074/

aside:
"New alloy converts heat directly into electricity"

By Ben Coxworth

13:49 June 24, 2011

"The multiferroic alloy, with the catchy name Ni45Co5Mn40Sn10, was created by combining its various elements at the atomic level. Multiferroic materials are known for having unique elastic, magnetic and electric properties, and in the case of this alloy, that takes a form of an usual phase change. When heated, the non-magnetic solid material suddenly becomes a strongly magnetic solid.

In a lab test, upon becoming magnetic, the material absorbed heat in its environment and proceeded to produce electricity in an attached coil. Although some of the heat energy is lost in a process known as hysteresis, the U Minnesota researchers have developed a method of minimizing that energy loss."

www.gizmag.com/alloy-converts-heat-into-electricity/19025/