An important step to make buildings more energy efficient is to seal any cracks and crevices to ensure that cool air stays inside. However, this can also cause the rate of humidity to increase. Luckily, experts have found a potential fix.
Adept Materials, an advanced materials company that seeks to use technology to make buildings more sustainable, created a new type of paint and primer to address the issue of humidity indoors, reported TechCrunch.
Adept Materials invented paint and primer that can absorb moisture from inside of a building, and release it only once the humidity has decreased, as per TechCrunch. Inspired by how plants can regulate temperatures through water transpiration, as well as how diodes allow electricity to pass through in only one direction, founder and CEO Derek Stein cracked the code.
Using a paint that acts as a sponge, and then a primer layer beneath that acts as a resistive barrier, Adept Materials saw a 14% reduction in humidity when testing it in a humid bathroom, per TechCrunch. "As humidity rises in the bathroom, the super-absorbent paint draws in moisture and doesn't release it until the humidity in the bathroom drops," stated TechCrunch.
New technological advancements like this are incredibly important for health and safety as we collectively experience rising global temperatures. In the U.S., the EPA estimates that people spend 90% of their time indoors.
"Increased indoor dampness and humidity can lead to increases in mold, dust mites, bacteria, and other biological contaminants," reported the EPA. Additionally, the more humid your indoor space is, the more likely you may be to use energy on air conditioning and dehumidifiers, which is costly and also bad for the environment.
Therefore, by using new materials to reduce humidity indoors, people can reduce their chances of getting sick while also saving money and reducing their energy use.
New types of paints and coatings are also being used on roofs and sidewalks with the intention of reflecting heat and sunlight from surfaces to reduce the overall heating of urban places.
Adept Materials raised $4 million in seed money with the aim of continuing to raise more and get new, climate-regulating materials onto the market. "As a startup company, you want to do pilot runs and stuff like that, but people might not give you the time of day," Stein stated to TechCrunch. "But if the biggest home builder in the U.S. says this is interesting to us, then it moves the needle," he concluded.
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