In a world where rising temperatures increase the demand for cooling, traditional air conditioning (AC) systems contribute significantly to global energy consumption. They also heat Earth overall: to cool down a certain volume of space (e.g., a room), AC systems typically dump heat nearby (e.g., outside the house). Seeking sustainable alternatives, researchers have turned to radiative cooling—a passive, zero-energy cooling method. Radiative cooling irreversibly removes heat to outer space, so from the point of view of Earth, it’s a net cooling effect.
Enhancing radiative cooling with aperture mirror structures
