Zigzag walls show promise in cutting building cooling costs

If you want to maintain a lower temperature at home, you can successfully use air conditioning. However, there are ways to cool the air that does not require additional energy. Scientists from the USA are testing an interesting architectural project.

Scientists from Columbia University in New York point out that zigzag-shaped architectural designs can effectively limit the amount of heat absorbed by buildings, which in turn helps in cooling them, as reported by The Guardian. According to research, "folded" walls can reduce the temperature by as much as 2°C compared to flat walls.

Buildings consume about 40% of the world's energy and generate 36% of carbon dioxide emissions. Cooling these structures, mainly through air conditioning, consumes about 20% of the energy used, and this share increases with climate warming.

American engineers and physicists have developed a passive cooling solution for buildings that does not require additional energy. They created a prototype of walls with protrusions running parallel to the ground, resembling a zigzag when viewed from the side.

This design uses radiative cooling, reflecting sunlight and emitting long-wave infrared radiation into space. Examples of such actions include painting roofs white to reflect sunlight. This method is particularly effective on horizontal surfaces, but vertical walls can additionally absorb heat from the ground.

In the summer in New Jersey, scientists conducted experiments by building one-metre models of the zigzag and flat constructions. The results of their research, published in August in the scientific journal Nexus (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynexs.2024.100028), showed that the irregular surface was, on average, 2°C cooler over a day compared to flat walls. During 1-2 PM Eastern Time, when sunlight is strongest, this difference was 3°C.

Zigzag cooling walls could be used in buildings in hot climate zones, although their use increases the need for heating in winter. Scientists have also developed the concept of movable surfaces resembling fins on hinges that can be raised in winter to increase heat absorption and lowered in summer to reduce the amount of heat absorbed.

It is estimated that in 2050, greenhouse gas emissions related to cooling buildings, including air conditioning, could more than triple.