Work is being done on radiative cooling and solar heating systems. SkyCool Systems, with a co-founder from Stanford University, has rooftop panels consisting of an optical film that radiates infrared light and cools itself in the process using nanotechnology. Resembling solar panels, they actually do the opposite, reflecting 97% of the sunlight hitting them and cooling the surface below. These panels consist of an optical film that radiates infrared light and cools itself in the process. They resemble solar panels but actually do the opposite, reflecting 97% of the sunlight that hits them and cooling the surface below. A network of pipes is embedded below those panels. The pipes are filled with water, kept cool by the panels and then flowing into a refrigeration or air conditioning system. Because the panels cool naturally and don’t need external power, it helps the entire system use less electricity.
And University of Buffalo engineers have developed a passive cooling technique with sun-blocking nanomaterials that emit heat away from building rooftops. It lowered the temperature inside a test system in an outdoor environment under direct sunlight over 12 degrees Celsius (22 degrees Fahrenheit) and captured enough solar power to heat water to about 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit). A spinoff company, Sunny Clean Water LLC has been established to commercialize the technology.
www.buffalo.edu/ubnow/stories/2021/02/gan-radiative-cooling.html
www.cnn.com/2021/08/09/tech/radiative-cooling-skycool-electricity-environment/index.html