Temperature-adaptive radiative coating for all-season household thermal regulation

• DOI: 10.1126/science.abf7136
• Publication Date: 2021-12-16T18:55:32Z
• Authors: Kechao Tang; Kaichen Dong; Jiachen Li; Madeleine P. Gordon; Finnegan G. Reich...; Hyungjin Kim; Yoonsoo Rho; Qingjun Wang; Chang-Yu Lin; Costas P. Grigoro...; Ali Javey; Jeffrey J. Urban; Jie Yao; Ronnen Levinson; Junqiao Wu
• Keywords: Radiative Cooling; Passive cooling; Reflective surfaces

The sky is a natural heat sink that has been extensively used for passive radiative cooling of households. A lot focus on maximizing the power roof coating in hot daytime using static, cooling-optimized material properties. However, resultant overcooling cold night or winter times exacerbates heating cost, especially climates where dominates energy consumption. We approached thermal regulation from an all-season perspective by developing mechanically flexible adapts its emittance to different ambient temperatures. fabricated temperature-adaptive (TARC) optimally absorbs solar and automatically switches 0.20 temperatures lower than 15°C 0.90 above 30°C, driven photonically amplified metal-insulator transition. Simulations show this system outperforms existing coatings saving most climates, those with substantial seasonal variations.