Spencer Cira
Pronouns: He/Him/His
UROP Fellowship: University of Michigan Energy Institute
Research Mentor(s): Andrej Lenert, PhD
Department of Chemical Engineering
Presentation Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2020 | Session 2 | Presenter: 1
Authors: Spencer Cira, Hannah Kim, and Andrej Lenert
Abstract
Radiative sky cooling is a well-documented physical phenomenon in which a surface emits infrared radiation to Space, effectively at ~3 K. Applications of this phenomenon for local thermal management, such as passive buildings, occupant thermal comfort and cooling of solar panels, are receiving a growing amount of interest. Beyond these local applications, radiative cooling has the potential to favorably alter the Earth’s energy balance if deployed on a large enough scale (10.1016/j.joule.2019.07.010). However, we currently lack an understanding of the techno-economic and environmental impacts of such a global cooling approach.
Here, we have developed a model that can be used to predict the radiative cooling potential of a specific geographic region based on readily available satellite land observations. Databases of global satellite observations obtained from NASA’s Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) are used to determine the terrain’s intrinsic infrared emissivity and UV/visible reflectivity. Optical properties (i.e., transmissivity, absorptivity, and reflectivity) of various passive radiators are then implemented into the model to determine the region’s radiative cooling potential and identify optimal cooling designs/materials. This model is a building block toward our broader goal of assessing the feasibility of using large-scale deployment of radiative cooling as a strategy to offset global warming.
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Research Disciplines
Engineering
