Imagine a world where buildings are no longer energy guzzlers but instead work in harmony with the environment, seamlessly reducing carbon footprints. This vision is becoming a reality with the integration of advanced materials and nanotechnology in smart buildings.
Smart buildings empowered by advanced materials and nanotechnology are at the forefront of sustainable construction practices. By optimizing energy efficiency and environmental performance, these innovative technologies are reshaping the way we design, construct, and operate buildings for a greener future.
The Power of Advanced Materials
Advanced materials such as smart glass, phase-change materials, and self-healing concrete are transforming traditional building components. Smart glass can adjust its tint to control heat and light entering a building, reducing the need for heating and cooling systems. Phase-change materials store and release energy, stabilizing indoor temperatures. Self-healing concrete repairs cracks autonomously, increasing durability and reducing maintenance costs.
Nanotechnology for Energy Efficiency
Nanotechnology plays a crucial role in enhancing energy efficiency in smart buildings. Nanomaterials can improve insulation, strengthen building materials, and even generate renewable energy. For example, nanocoatings can make windows more insulating, reducing heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer. Nanogenerators can harness energy from vibrations and movement, powering sensors and devices within the building.
Environmental Benefits
The adoption of advanced materials and nanotechnology in smart buildings brings substantial environmental benefits. By improving energy efficiency, these technologies help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. Additionally, the use of sustainable materials and innovative construction methods minimizes waste generation and promotes eco-friendly practices in the building industry.
About the Book
The purpose of this book is to provide readers with a state-of-the-art review of the latest advances in building materials and building design. The book considers both design and materials aspects, with a particular focus on the next generation of building materials and cutting-edge products currently on the market as high-priority, energy-efficient building envelope components. The book is divided into three major parts.
The first part
After introducing the issues related to the design process in the third millennium and the differences between zero-energy buildings, green buildings, and smart buildings in Part I, this book addresses the issue of smart buildings, focusing on the building envelope and the enormous new possibilities offered by smart materials and nano It describes how the envelope can be “adapted” by the enormous new possibilities offered by smart materials and nanotechnology.
- Chapter 1 provides an overview of emerging issues related to building design and presents design strategies to maximize building efficiency, sustainability, and building quality.
- Chapter 2 provides an overview of the state-of-the-art materials currently available to reconcile the architectural features of buildings with the emerging issues of energy and environmental efficiency.
The second part
on the latest solutions for insulation, so-called smart insulation, presents extensive research on the most innovative insulation materials, ranging from nanotechnologies to bioecological materials and PCMs, and describes their technical properties, performance levels, and uses.
- Chapter 3 focuses on the importance of the thermal-humidity properties of opaque closures in building energy efficiency.
- Chapter 4 focuses on innovative solutions for the insulation of opaque closures in new and existing buildings and discusses future prospects and developments in detail.
- Chapter 5 focuses on the importance of the thermal capacity of the building envelope for energy efficiency and indoor thermal comfort and presents the most innovative smart materials for latent heat storage in new and existing buildings.
- Chapter 6 provides a detailed analysis of reflective coatings (cool roofs) available on the market and their potential for application in new and existing buildings and their potential for increasing building energy efficiency and reducing the urban heat island effect.
- Chapter 7 focuses on the most innovative solutions for improving the thermal transmittance of glazing. Examples include double and triple glazing, rare gas filling, low-emissivity coatings, suspended film glazing, vacuum-insulated glass, monolithic aerogels, heated glazing, and glazed double-skin facades.
- Chapter 8 describes the role of glazing in daylighting and solar control to achieve maximum daylighting and energy efficiency levels by avoiding summer overheating and taking advantage of winter solar gain.
- Chapter 9 describes the most innovative high-performance dynamic glazing systems, which not only reduce heat loss but also control maximum solar radiation in winter and minimum in summer to ensure the best natural lighting conditions without glare.
- Chapter 10 focuses on the role of glass surfaces as energy-generating components.
