Building your own house isn’t easy. There are a million different decisions to make and factors to consider. For instance, what kind of materials should you use? Here are a few options for HVAC building materials — that is, materials to help your system run more efficiently, improving home comfort while saving energy.
Traditional Materials
Brick and stone both have many advantages as building materials, which is why they’ve been used for centuries. First and foremost is that they’re strong and sturdy. However, they also provide benefits in terms of energy efficiency.
In effect, these materials are natural insulators. In the winter, they will absorb the sun’s heat, transferring it into your home to keep you warm. In the summer, they’ll do the reverse: absorb the hot air inside your home and bring it outside to keep you cool. There are other traditional materials that are also efficient at insulation, such as concrete and tile.
Smart HVAC Building Materials
Natural insulation is great, but now, scientists are taking things a step further. Smart materials are now being developed to help buildings regulate their temperatures even more precisely. Specifically, these materials are designed to emulate the human body in its ability to maintain a constant and precise internal temperature, regardless of outside conditions.
Whether there’s a snowstorm or a heat wave outside, your body temperature remains around 98 degrees. If a building could do the same (at a significantly lower temperature), this could reduce HVAC use considerably and save huge amounts of energy.
Rather than being solid and sturdy, like stone or brick, this smart material is a gel. Therefore, it won’t be used as the basis for an entire building but as a supplement. It could be a window treatment or serve as insulation in walls. It’s currently in development for use in commercial buildings, but if it proves successful, it may find its way into homes as well, revolutionizing home comfort as we know it.
To learn about other HVAC building materials to improve energy efficiency, contact us at Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing. We’re Indianapolis’ trusted source for quality home-comfort solutions.
