The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be observed through a direct reduction in the energy consumption required by large industrial facilities, commercial buildings, campuses, and homes. Due to reduced cooling demands as a result of carefully designed radiative properties, the sustainability of federal and industry facilities will be significantly improved with the installation of PRC roofing material for building energy management. A complementary function of PRC roofing is found with the potential for enhanced condensation from the ultra-cool surface, presenting the ability to integrate PRC for improved rooftop water harvesting, directly impacting critical water supply issues and the expensive effects of drought on regional agriculture. The market demand for cool roofing materials has exceeded $750M, annually, and is expected to grow with recent energy regulations. PRC roofing material can expect to compete in a growing industry due to non-trivial improvement over state-of-the-art options in commercial cool roofing products and the economic fabrication method identified in the PRC conceptual design stage. Opportunities extend beyond structural thermal management to facilities dedicated to condensation of atmospheric water vapor in isolated regions without access to satisfactory water supplies, and portable use for emergency water harvesting.
The proposed project will provide the critical design, testing, and experimental validation needed to transition PRC technology into the commercial sector. Designs based on electromagnetic and thermal modeling include composite material options capable of providing passive radiative flux of over 100 Watts per square meter of installed material. This passive cooling advantage?relative to current commercial cool roofing materials?is expected to create significant long-term cost-savings and reduction in fossil fuel usage for climate controlled structures. PRC material properties designed to be selective across the ultraviolet-visible-infrared spectrum offer the opportunity for intelligent thermal management through reflection of visible and near-infrared portions of the radiative spectrum, while emitting strongly in the 8-13 ìm atmospheric transmission window. A primary objective of the SBIR project is to optimize PRC designs considering full spectrum properties with three criteria in mind: thermal efficiency improvement, prototype fabrication, and large batch manufacturing economy. The second primary objective is sub-scale fabrication and spectral characterization of the PRC roofing material. Subsequent demonstration of a functional PRC sample with quantified passive cooling power is key to the goals of attracting licensing clients and/or investments for commercial-grade manufacturing.
