A Home That Heats Itself

This video page works best with Flash

This page works best if you have the current version of Adobe's Flash Player installed. Click on the image to the left to install the player.

Michael Sykes, a builder from North Carolina, has created a home that can heat and cool itself using only solar energy. The principle at work is "phase change." Sykes has engineered the resin in the wood he builds with to change phase at 70 degrees F. The resin goes from liquid to solid and back to liquid again at room temperature. The phase change allows the walls to soak up and trap vast amounts of heat during the day--cooling the room. At night, the wood releases the heat and warms the home. In this video, Ira talks with Sykes about how it works. Sykes won first prize for his Enertia Building System at the 2007 Modern Marvels Invent Now Challenge, sponsored by The History Channel and the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation. Produced by Flora Lichtman, Images courtesy of Enertia.com. Viewed 9742 times.

Send us your videos!

Subscribe to our Video Podcast

Elsewhere on Sciencefriday.com

Explore More

• No related categories found

Most Viewed Videos

• Water Balloons in Space (Nov 14, 2008)
• Turtles On The Wrong Side Of The Tracks (Sep 25, 2009)
• Candy Corn In Space (Apr 10, 2009)
• This Bird Can Shake His Tail Feathers (Apr 29, 2009)
• Give It A Shake, Cornstarch Comes Alive (Mar 13, 2009)

Feeds

More info about our feeds

Your Stuff