Tech Paint
The future of paints is heating up — or, rather, cooling down.
In fall 2023, researchers at Stanford University announced they had developed an exterior paint that reflects infrared heat, which can reduce heating and cooling costs by 20% to 25%.
Just a month later, researchers at China’s Harbin Institute of Technology announced a low-cost coating that’s even more effective at increasing building energy efficiency. Inspired by chameleons, it changes color to regulate heat.
And finally, just five days after that, scientists at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom published their findings on a "living paint" in which bacteria traps carbon dioxide and produces oxygen.
Self-Healing Concrete
Speaking of living building materials, researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder are working multiple concrete alternatives and technologies to offset concrete’s massive global carbon footprint, including self-healing concrete.
“Right now, [concrete’s] weakest point is that it will eventually crack,” says Mija Hubler, Ph.D., co-director of CU’s Center for Infrastructure, Energy and Space Testing. “So no matter how good or bad concrete is for the environment, making it crack resistant at least means it’s going to last longer once you put it there.”
Her department is also working on a concrete product with Colorado-based Prometheus Materials that uses bacteria and fungus instead of calcite for the cementation (think of a coral reef). That means it requires less energy to produce, plus sequesters carbon throughout its lifespan.
Sustainable Building Materials
Beyond concrete, there are myriad innovative building materials in development. University of Colorado researchers also have developed an insulating gel using cellulose nanofibers from wood pulp. This transparent wood product can be retrofitted between existing window panes to make them more energy efficient.
Also, Swedish scientists at the Royal Institute of Technology recently figured out how to infuse wood with citrus peel and coconut extract, which makes a sustainable materia capable of storing heat during the day and releasing it at night.
This “thermal energy battery” also changes transparency. On sunny, warm days, it absorbs heat and turns clear. Then when it cools off at night, it releases its stored heat and provides privacy.
AI Home Energy Audits
Artificial intelligence is stepping in to make home energy-efficiency retrofits easier. New algorithms developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom can pinpoint where they’re needed most, with 80% precision.
Once this tech is widely available, it will make it easier for homeowners to prioritize ways to reduce their carbon emissions, especially in older or more complex houses. It may even be paired with video street views so city planners and policymakers can create more effective neighborhood decarbonization plans.
Electrical Components
As early as 2024, silicon chips with solid-state technology will start to be available in electrical components like LED lighting, outlets and breakers. This tech makes houses more energy-efficient, programmable and safer, because it prevents electric arcs that can cause fires.
“We’re finally seeing some of the outdated, unsustainable areas of our home tech undergo rapidly-changing upgrades,” says Thar Casey, founder and CEO of AmberSemi. “The result is a level of whole building environmental, human presence and electricity awareness and control not seen today.”
Also, a group from Duke University figured out how to print recyclable transistors for devices like TVs and phones, so they can be more easily reused and recycled. This would be a big sustainability jump from today’s thin-film transistor printing. The latter requires clean rooms, expensive equipment, large amounts of energy and water and environmentally harmful inks, solvents and other chemicals.
Home Battery Backup Systems
Here’s one you can get your hands on today! Battery storage systems for powering homes have improved immensely during the last few years.
“As the grid evolves towards greater reliance on renewables, home-based battery energy storage is becoming an essential resource,” says Jonathan Cedar, co-founder of BioLite, a manufacturer of off-grid cooking, lighting and power solutions.
“Our prediction is that by 2030, most homes will have some sort of built-in battery that can both help to stabilize the grid and provide seamless backup for the home in the event of grid outages.”
There are also a lot of intriguing new battery technologies in the works that don’t rely on rare-earth elements or other minerals that require mining and can be difficult to recycle. One recent breakthrough is made from crab shells.
Plastic Alternatives
In an ideal future, we won’t have to seek out ways to minimize single-use plastics,, because product manufacturers will have eliminated them for us.
Scientists around the world are developing a waterfall of plastic alternatives using materials like seaweed, mushrooms and pineapple leaves. Some are already in use, including edible biscotti coffee cups and packaging made of hemp hurd and mycelium.
All those plastic-wrapped veggies might soon disappear as well. Scientists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have developed a spray-on, biodegradable food covering. Like plastic, it can protect produce from spoilage and keep it sanitary, but it washes off with water.
At the University of Washington, they’ve also figured out how to make bioplastics from blue-green cyanobacteria (aka spirulina), which can degrade as fast as a banana peel in home composting bins.
Home Cooling
Energy-intensive HVAC systems have long been a stumbling block on the quest for creating sustainable homes.
Engineers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found a way to replace the traditional air conditioning method of compressing and expanding liquid refrigerants with "ionocaloric materials" triggered by magnetic fields or voltage. It sounds complex, but it works off the same basic principle as using salt to de-ice a road, since the salt lowers the freezing point of the water.
Meat Spoilage
It can be a touchy subject because it hits us right in our stomachs, but our agricultural system creates a lot of carbon emissions — especially for meat production.
So to keep people from getting sick and save some of the 240 million tons of meat we toss out every year, researchers at Koç University in Turkey developed a phone app that can sense spoiled meat and other foods. It’s based off a quarter-size polymer patch that can be placed inside food packaging to detect changes in freshness.
Elsewhere, others are working on making plant-based “meats” taste meatier. University of Leeds researchers recently found a way to transform dry-tasting plant proteins into more meat-like plump textures.
Rooftop Tech
Forget those bulky, rigid solar panels. Flexible solar cells are on the way to becoming just as efficient. Before long, it will likely be widely integrated into building facades, aircraft and cars.
Another rooftop panel in the works by researchers in Germany and Canada can make cheap hydrogen fuel. They’ve found a way to 3D print plastic channels, then coat them with aluminum.
These “photoreactors” then use artificial photosynthesis to split water into hydrogen without the current carbon-dioxide-intensive creation processes. The hydrogen can then be used for cars and home heating once those technologies are readily available.
About the Experts
- Mija Hubler, Ph.D., is co-director of the University of Colorado’s Center for Infrastructure, Energy and Space Testing. Her research focuses on construction materials testing and aging, design code developments and structural evaluation and redesign.
- Thar Casey is founder and CEO of AmberSemi. He leads technology-based companies from product concept to high volume manufacturing. He also serves on the board of directors for Intelesol, PicoField Technologies and STR.
- Jonathan Cedar is co-founder and CEO of BioLite, a social enterprise that develops and manufactures affordable, green energy systems around the world for off-grid communities.
Published December 25th, 2023 - FamilyHandyman.com
