Researchers at the University of Maryland are on their way to developing something that will not only save you from the summer electrical blackouts, but will also drastically reduce your summer electricity bills and greenhouse gas emissions. Although, the air conditioners relieve you from the sweltering summer heat, but places extra load on electricity supplies. The three materials science engineers in Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering claim to have created a solid “thermally elastic” metal alloy could help cool homes and refrigerate food 175 percent more efficiently than current technology.
The new smart metal that replaces the fluids used in conventional refrigeration and air conditioning compressors is capable of absorbing or creating heat in nearly the same manner as a compressor-based system, but uses much lesser energy. The team will be testing the 0.01-ton prototype soon and has received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. The University of Maryland has collaborated with General Electric Global Research and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to get help on the project. It is expected that this new metal will reduce U.S. carbon dioxide emissions by 250 million metric tons annually.
Via: Gizmag