Imagine a building that self-regulates its temperature without electronics. A building that adapts, allowing outside air in as needed and eliminating the need for air conditioning, but that uses no energy in doing so. Â A University of California-Berkley research team has developed a new type of “building skin” that can do just that, and they are offering their skin as a low-cost option specifically for developing countries.
The team developed SABER, a membrane that wraps around a building instead of walls, filled with micro-scale valves and lenses that open and close as they sense light, heat, and humidity.  It works with no power at all – not even solar PV panels – and keeps the temperature comfortable and light bright inside.
“It began with the aim of being a skin that can breathe, similar to our skin, that can open and close its pores, to regulate the temperature, humidity, and light conditions,” says architect Maria-Paz Gutierrez, a member of the BIOMS research team … we focus more on technologies that are applicable for developing nations because that’s where the big thrust of innovation in construction takes place,” Gutierrez says. Â “We’re looking at tropical regions, since that’s where you have the largest population that requires strategies that are low cost.”
The skin doesn’t actually cool a building. Â It makes the inside more comfortable by increasing the air ventilation rate, allowing for more evaporation of moisture on occupants’ skin, making them feel cooler.
SABER says its energy-efficient building skin system is scalable to any size, from a low-cost shelter to huge stadiums, and it doesn’t use any energy to operate. Â The team has successfully created a prototype material with the skin embedded in it, and is working on other low-cost materials.
Source | Photos: Fast Company
