Thermeleon Roof Tiles Make Energy Saving As Clear White Or Black

Thermeleon tiles are energy solution because they turn white when there is enough heat to turn the roof cool and change their color to black when it is enough cold inside the room and required to absorb the light and warm inside the room. These prototype roof tiles will turn their color as per required for energy absorbing or avoiding when it is outside.

This isthe reason of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduates has won the third annual MIT MADMEC (Making and Designing Materials Engineering Contest) by demonstrating their thermally-activated, color-changing, roofing material called “Thermeleon” (as in chameleon).

The light transmission properties of the roofing material can be controlled using phase-change polymer gel-filled tiles, meaning that on a hot day the roofing material turns white to reflect heat, but on a cold day the material becomes transparent and absorbs heat back into the home.

In latest architecture planning for homes, architects prefer the black roofing shingles to absorb energy from the summer sun leading to higher cooling bills and wasting much of that solar energy. While this heat absorption factor may be offset in the winter with the home taking advantage of the sun's energy reducing heating bills (often only slightly) the problem remains what to do about the intense summer sun that turns into interior heat.

Use of white roofing is also advantageous and best available solution to overcome the summer heat – but permanent white roofs, such as factory-painted materials, repel much of the advantage of winter heat absorption. While this solves the problem of summer heat it doesn’t provide any advantage in winter. The tiles which should change the color depending on the temperature around the year will be an appreciating idea.

The Thermeleon creators told “We are currently developing our system and are looking forward to doing some long-term environmental testing (heat/UV/humidity) to determine the anticipated lifespan of our design,”