SBIR Phase II:Thermo-optic Rooftop Modulation Using Thermal Panes for Building Energy Decarbonization

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project may enable the generation of as much as 65% of a building’s energy needs from renewable heating and cooling, reducing consumption by 13 Quads and saving consumers potentially billions of dollars. Buildings account for 28% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions worldwide and at least 2/3 of these structures will still exist in the year 2040. Achieving significant energy coset reductions will require a retrofit solution that is competitive with natural gas and grid-powered heating and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Such a retrofit must also be easily deployed in a wide variety of building types and architectures. The technology under development is a roof-mounted, panelized array that provides solar heat during the day and radiatively cools at night. The technology may be able to supply building energy resources throughout the year, a disruptive capability for a rooftop clean energy solution. The low cost and renewable nature of this resource may also insure that building owners and residents have access to carbon-free energy that is less expensive, less volatile, and more resilient in the face of interruptions to energy supplied from conventional gas and grid sources.This SBIR Phase II project seeks to validate a panelized rooftop technology to renewably generate heating and cooling resources for buildings. Dominant solutions combust fuel for heat and use grid electricity to power vapor compression for cooling. The proposed solution describes an array of thermal panes that convert a roof into an active environmental interface that continually optimizes the extraction and rejection of heat via absorptive, radiative, and convective processes. The technology continually operates in response to building energy needs. By modulating pane thermo-optic properties the solution enables fluid flow to alter the internal optical and heat transfer configuration. Evaluation of the technology will begin with manufacturing prototypes that incorporate novel thermal bonding techniques for integrating foamed polyiso-, fluoro-, and poly-olefin polymers. A solar simulator will assess efficiency and output temperatures, an iterative process to explore the role of internal fluid flows, visble and infrared radiation paths, and thermal loss mechanisms. An array will be subsequently deployed on a rooftop and coupled to the building energy system. Data will be collected to assess the impact on energy consumption and overall heating/cooling while developing control algorithms for pane modulation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.