SkyCool Systems to cool buildings using the coldness of outer space

SkyCool Sytems, founded by Stanford University researcher Aaswath Raman, has developed a cooling method capable of releasing excess heat out of the atmosphere in the form of infrared rays. The idea is to exploit a natural phenomenon called radiative cooling. All objects emit thermal radiation. When it is emitted towards the sky, a portion of it is absorbed and reflected by the atmosphere. Another portion, which falls within a particular range of frequencies, escape into the upper atmosphere and outer space, where conditions are much colder. This can cause the object emitting that radiation to cool to lower the temperature of the surrounding air. SkyCool is developing a technology meant to exploit this phenomenon, based on relatively recent advances in the ability to manipulate light at a nano scale. Engineers have known for a while that radiative cooling is useful for cooling buildings at night. However, in 2014, the company showed that a device designed to combine the optical properties of three different materials, arranged in stack of multiple layers, cooled to nearly 5°C below the ambient air temperature. This proved that the cold darkness of the universe can be used as a renewable resource, even during the hottest hours of the day.
http://www.archdaily.com/784335/skycool-systems-develops-technique-to-cool-buildings-using-the-coldness-of-outer-space
By: Betterinteriors