Farewell Air Conditioning! This novel roofing substance keeps residences cool.

Farewell Air Conditioning! This novel roofing substance keeps residences cool.

Man showing Cooling paper.
Cooling paper by Ruby Wallau / Northeastern University

The “cooling paper,” an eco-friendly alternative to air conditioning, is crafted from recyclable paper and does not require electricity to operate. Air conditioning is typically taken for granted until there is a power outage and it ceases to function. But what if staying cool could be achieved without electricity altogether?

A product has been created by a scientist that not only reflects the sun’s rays away from rooftops but also absorbs heat from buildings and radiates it outwards. Moreover,get this, it is made from recyclable paper. Some homes could easily spend twice that.

With global temperatures level on the rise, no one is giving up their AC. The installation of air conditioning units has seen a rise in popularity, particularly in developing countries where the middle class can now afford them. Fifteen years ago, very few people in China’s metropolitan regions had air conditioners; currently, there are indeed more AC units in China than there are homes.

Nevertheless, AC has drawbacks: it is expensive, and it takes a lot of electricity that often comes from fossil fuels, causing air pollution and global warming.

Yi Zheng, an associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern University, has developed a material named “cooling paper” that operates without the need for electricity. According to the Good News Network, Zheng envisions a future where people worldwide can utilize this cooling paper to insulate their homes.

From AC to Cooling Paper

According to Good News Network, he has a hope that one day individuals worldwide will envelop their houses with the cooling paper. In addition to the cooling benefits, the paper does not require any electricity and it is” 100%” recyclable.

The article has the potential to lower the temperature of a room by as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit, offering a radical but efficient option compared to current air conditioning systems that consume a lot of energy. How to make “cooling paper”: I remember making paper as a youngster by soaking newsprint, shredding it in the blender, and also rolling the slurry flat while pressing out the water. Zheng’s technique is not any more advanced than my fourth-grade science fair plan. Instead of pressing flower petals into his pulp, he joined it with the product which fabricates Teflon. The cooling paper’s “porous microstructure of the natural fibers” can both absorb heat and transport it away from the building. Additionally, Zheng discovered that the cooling paper could be recycled to create a new sheet without losing any of its cooling abilities.

Zheng expressed his surprise at obtaining identical results, stating that they anticipated a ten to twenty percent reduction in efficacy. However, no such loss was observed.


Read the original article on Free Think.

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