Coloured low-emissivity films for building envelopes for year-round energy savings

Peng, Yucan; Fan, Lingling; Jin, Weiliang; Ye, Yusheng; Huang, Zhuojun; Zhai, Shang; Luo, Xuan; Ma, Yinxing; Tang, Jing; Zhou, Jiawei; Greenburg, Louisa C.; Majumdar, Arun; Fan, Shanhui; Cui, Yi

doi:10.1038/s41893-021-00836-x

Title: Coloured low-emissivity films for building envelopes for year-round energy savings

Journal Article · 23 December 2021 · Nature Sustainability

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00836-x · OSTI ID:1865330

^[1];

^[1]; Huang, Zhuojun ^[1]; Zhai, Shang ^[1]; Luo, Xuan ^[2]; Ma, Yinxing ^[1]; Tang, Jing ^[1]; Zhou, Jiawei ^[1]; Greenburg, Louisa C. ^[1]; Majumdar, Arun ^[1];

^[1];

^[3]

Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Stanford Univ., CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)

We report that buildings are responsible for over 40% of total US energy use, of which about 40% is directly related to the operation of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. Saving energy to heat and cool buildings would contribute substantially to sustainability. Here we propose a category of coloured low-emissivity films for building walls that constitute the main component of the building thermal envelope. We demonstrate high reflectance (~90%) in infrared wavelength range and selective reflectance in the visible light wavelength range for desired colours. These films can help minimize radiative heat exchange between the indoor and outdoor environments, thus saving energy for all-year cooling and heating while satisfying the required aesthetical effect. Simulations show that these films can help reduce heat gain and loss by up to 257.6 MJ per installation wall area annually. In the case of a typical midrise apartment building, the HVAC system can save up to 124.46 GJ (equal to 9.87% of the building’s HVAC energy consumption). By rough estimation, a global CO₂ emission reduction of 1.14 billion metric tons annually could be achieved. Our work provides insights for innovative energy-saving building envelope materials that can help achieve global carbon neutrality and sustainability.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-76SF00515

OSTI ID:: 1865330

Journal Information:: Nature Sustainability, Journal Name: Nature Sustainability Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 5; ISSN 2398-9629

Publisher:: Springer NatureCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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