Scientists Reveal the Secret to Creating “Living and Breathing” Buildings That Use Less Energy — The characteristics of the |
, represent some of the most significant biological formations globally. These structures have been honed and perfected by natural selection over tens of millions of years. How might human architects and engineers benefit from studying these industrious insects?demonstrates the valuable lessons we can learn from termite mounds to create comfortable interior climates in our buildings.
The researchers focused on the egress complex: a dense, lattice-like network of tunnels, between 3mm and 5mm wide, which connects wider conduits inside with the exterior. During the rainy season when the mound is growing, this extends over its north-facing surface, directly exposed to the midday sun. Outside this season, termite workers keep the egress tunnels blocked. The complex is thought to allow evaporation of excess moisture, while maintaining adequate ventilation.
“When ventilating a building, you want to preserve the delicate balance of temperature and humidity created inside, without impeding the movement of stale air outwards and fresh air inwards. Most HVAC systems struggle with this. Here we have a structured interface that allows the exchange of respiratory gasses, simply driven by differences in concentration between one side and the other. Conditions inside are thus maintained,” explained Soar.termites. Credit: D. Andréen and R.
“We imagine that building walls in the future, made with emerging technologies like powder bed printers, will contain networks similar to the egress complex. These will make it possible to move air around, through embedded sensors and actuators that require only tiny amounts of energy,” said Andréen.
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