Researchers in Prof. Shanhui Fan’s laboratory have developed a robust high-performance panel for passive daytime cooling. The device could provide air conditioning without electricity or improve energy efficiency of buildings and vehicles. Using an engineered nanophotonic material this technology incorporates a thermal emitter and solar reflector into one unit. The panel achieves net cooling power in excess of 100 watts/square meter. This technology could be used to cool large structures such as buildings homes or automobiles as well as smaller electronics for dramatic energy savings.The ultrabroadband photonic structure made of quartz and silicon carbide is an effective mirror to reflect light at solar wavelengths while emitting heat in the mid-infrared range to escape Earth’s atmosphere. Stage of Research: The inventors have developed the metal-dielectric photonic structure with net radiative cooling power in excess of 100W/m2 at ambient temperature even in the presence of significant heat exchange and nonideal atmospheric conditions.
High-performance daylight cooling