---
title: UMD Researchers’ ‘Cooling Glass’ Blasts Building Heat Into Space
date: 2023-11-13T05:30:00-05:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/umd-researchers-cooling-glass-blasts-building-heat-into-space"
section: Articles
---
# UMD Researchers’ ‘Cooling Glass’ Blasts Building Heat Into Space

*November 13, 2023* — by [Daniela Benites](/author/daniela-benites)


> New Coating Can Be Applied to Exterior Surfaces to Reduce AC Use, Fight Climate Change

*Building heat istock 1920x1080 — UMD researchers developed a new glass coating that effectively cools buildings using the frigid temperatures in the depths of space.*

University of Maryland researchers aiming to combat rising global temperatures have developed a new “cooling glass” that can turn down the heat indoors without electricity by drawing on the cold depths of space.

The new technology, a microporous glass coating described in a [paper](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi2224) published Thursday in the journal *Science*, can lower the temperature of the material beneath it by 3.5 degrees Celsius at noon, and has the potential to reduce a mid-rise apartment building’s yearly carbon emissions by 10%, according to the research team led by Distinguished University Professor Liangbing Hu in the [Department of Materials Science and Engineering](https://mse.umd.edu/).

The coating works in two ways: First, it reflects up to 99% of solar radiation to stop buildings from absorbing heat. More intriguingly, it emits heat in the form of longwave infrared radiation into the icy universe, where the temperature is generally around -270 degrees Celsius, or just a few degrees above absolute zero.

In a phenomenon known as “radiative cooling,” space effectively acts as a heat sink for the buildings; they take advantage of the new cooling glass design along with the so-called atmospheric transparency window—a part of the electromagnetic spectrum that passes through the atmosphere without boosting its temperature—to dump large amounts of heat into the infinite cold sky beyond. (The same phenomenon allows the earth to cool itself, particularly on clear nights, although with much less intense emissions than those from the new glass developed at UMD.)

“It’s a game-changing technology that simplifies how we keep buildings cool and energy-efficient,” said Assistant Research Scientist Xinpeng Zhao, the first author of the study. “This could change the way we live and help us take better care of our home and our planet."

\[*[The Wood That Could—and Did—Receive a $20M Award: DoE Grant Supports Researcher’s Efforts to Introduce Ultra-strong Wood for Construction](https://today.umd.edu/the-wood-that-could-and-did-receive-20m-award)*\]

Unlike previous attempts at cooling coatings, the new UMD-developed glass is environmentally stable—able to withstand exposure to water, ultraviolet radiation, dirt and even flames, enduring temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. The glass can be applied to a variety of surfaces like tile, brick and metal, making the technology highly scalable and adoptable for wide use.



*two men  hold a white rectangular piece of metal in front of a white building — Hu (left) and Zhao display a panel of steel coated with their new radiative cooling glass. (Photo courtesy of A. James Clark School of Engineering)*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Materials Science and Engineering](https://today.umd.edu/topic/materials-science-and-engineering), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [A. James Clark School of Engineering](https://today.umd.edu/topic/james-clark-school-engineering)