3D Printed Bricks Instead Of Air Conditioning System
Many designers use different devices for house passive cooling. But what if we try to approach the issue from another side and for cooling system use the material from which the house is built. For example, it can be a simple brick.
Company "Emerging Objects" has developed a 3D-printed ceramic brick that uses nothing but water to cool homes in hot, dry climates. Every centimeter of this brick is printed by 3D printer, and the invention is called quite simply - Cool Bricks.
Evaporative cooling is the addition of water vapor into air, which causes a lowering of the temperature of the air. Before the advent of refrigeration, evaporative cooling was used for millennia. Porous ceramic vessels were used to cool water by evaporation through their walls. Frescoes from about 2500 BC show slaves fanning jars of water to cool rooms. Inspired by the Muscatese Evaporative cooling window, which combines a wood screen, or mashrabiya, and a ceramic vessel filled with water, the "cool brick" masonry system is used to build walls that passively cool interiors in desert environments.
Comprised of 3D printed porous ceramic bricks set in mortar, each brick absorbs water like a sponge and is designed as a three dimensional lattice that allows air to pass through the wall. As air moves through the 3D printed brick, the water that is held in the micro-pores of the ceramic evaporates, bringing cool air into an interior environment, lowering the temperature using the principle of evaporative cooling.
The bricks are modular and interlocking, and can be stacked together to make a screen. The 3D lattice creates a strong bond when set in mortar. The shape of the brick also creates a shaded surface on the wall to keep a large percentage of the wall's surface cool and protected from the sun to improve the wall's performance.
"This is a modern alternative to air conditioners or other devices that can cool the air inside the house. Our technology is more natural and allows you to save a lot of energy, especially in extremely arid regions, "- said one of the brick's designers, Ronald Rael.
Currently the testing of innovation brick has just begun and its abilities are checked in practice. But researchers believe that the bricks can be used for cooling large rooms and also can be useful in agriculture.
Company "Emerging Objects" has developed a 3D-printed ceramic brick that uses nothing but water to cool homes in hot, dry climates. Every centimeter of this brick is printed by 3D printer, and the invention is called quite simply - Cool Bricks.
Evaporative cooling is the addition of water vapor into air, which causes a lowering of the temperature of the air. Before the advent of refrigeration, evaporative cooling was used for millennia. Porous ceramic vessels were used to cool water by evaporation through their walls. Frescoes from about 2500 BC show slaves fanning jars of water to cool rooms. Inspired by the Muscatese Evaporative cooling window, which combines a wood screen, or mashrabiya, and a ceramic vessel filled with water, the "cool brick" masonry system is used to build walls that passively cool interiors in desert environments.
Comprised of 3D printed porous ceramic bricks set in mortar, each brick absorbs water like a sponge and is designed as a three dimensional lattice that allows air to pass through the wall. As air moves through the 3D printed brick, the water that is held in the micro-pores of the ceramic evaporates, bringing cool air into an interior environment, lowering the temperature using the principle of evaporative cooling.
The bricks are modular and interlocking, and can be stacked together to make a screen. The 3D lattice creates a strong bond when set in mortar. The shape of the brick also creates a shaded surface on the wall to keep a large percentage of the wall's surface cool and protected from the sun to improve the wall's performance.
"This is a modern alternative to air conditioners or other devices that can cool the air inside the house. Our technology is more natural and allows you to save a lot of energy, especially in extremely arid regions, "- said one of the brick's designers, Ronald Rael.
Currently the testing of innovation brick has just begun and its abilities are checked in practice. But researchers believe that the bricks can be used for cooling large rooms and also can be useful in agriculture.
