Could walls that SWEAT replace air conditioning

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Could walls that SWEAT replace air conditioning

Posted by sciencetech-blog on Friday, October 24, 2014 Label:

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Air conditioning hasn't changed much over the past century - most options are energy hungry and many are noisy and pretty unsightly.

But one company has taken inspiration from nature to create an innovative alternative that doesn't require electricity and in theory isn't even visible.

Using a substance called hydrogel, experts have created walls that absorb moisture to 'sweat' - like human skin - and cool the interior of a building.

Architects in Barcelona have invented a new type of air conditioning. A substance called hydrogel that could be used in walls (shown) and can absorb water and then 'sweat'

The technique was developed by architects from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia in Barcelona.

Hydrogel is useful because it can swell to 500 times its size and absorb water.

CLIMATE CHANGE IS LIKELY CAUSE OF CALIFORNIA'S MEGA-DROUGHT

The unprecedented drought afflicting California is 'very likely' linked to human-caused climate change, researchers at National Climactic Data Center found.

They say a persistent region of high atmospheric pressure hovering over the Pacific Ocean that diverted storms away from California was much more likely to form in the presence of modern greenhouse gas concentrations.

It is one of the most comprehensive studies to investigate the link between climate change and California's ongoing drought.

The report found that high-pressure ridges like the one that stubbornly parked itself over the Pacific Ocean for the past two winters, blocking storms from hitting California, are much more likely to form in the presence of man-made greenhouse gases.

The ridge, dubbed the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge by researchers, or 'Triple R,' parched the state during the past two rainy seasons.

When air around it heats up, this water evaporates and the air around the gel can be cooled by 5 or 6°C.

This means it has a sort of 'embedded intelligence' according to the team, as it will only begin cooling its surroundings when the temperature outside is hot.

'In other words, when it is hotter outside, the interior responds by naturally decreasing its temperature,' the team writes.

'Meanwhile, when evaporation isn't occurring, the system doesn't cool the enclosed space.'

Placing bubbles of the gel between two ceramic layers allows the innovative technology to then be used in walls.

And as the hydrogels are simply little balls, the system can be moulded to fit a variety of structures.

However, it's likely this technology would need to be used in tandem with existing air conditioning units to ensure a building reached a comfortable temperature.

According to the team this could cut power usage in a home by 28 per cent, while carbon emissions could be cut by 124.6lbs (56.5kg).

Hydrogel (shown) is useful because it can swell to 500 times its size and absorb water. When water evaporates from the substance it cools its surroundings

Hydrogel can be used to reduce temperature by five to six degrees. It could reduce our dependence on energy-hungry air conditioning units. Placing bubbles of the gel between two ceramic layers (shown) allows the innovative technology to then be used in walls

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