This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Crean un techo que cambia de color para absorber o reflejar calor según la temporada del año
Create a roof that changes colour to absorb or reflect heat depending on the season of the year
19/10/2009
October 19, 2009
Researchers at MIT (Massachussets Institute technology) in the USA developed a new type of tile roofing capable of changing its color from white to black depending on the temperature, reflecting the heat in summer or absorbing it during the winter.
According to the electronic portal SmartPlanet, shingles can reject 80% of the heat when they are white, down to 30% when they return to their black hue. This could save up to 20% in costs of ventilation during heat seasons.
Nick Orf, one of the members of the development team, told that the tiles are coated with a white polymer that solidifies under certain temperatures, becoming liquid when it is hot and revealing its original black background.
The material was presented in the competition for Material design and construction of MIT, obtaining $5,000 as prize.
