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High Tech Materials That Could Soon Be Making An Appearance On Your Property

If you think that your home is just bricks and mortar, then think again. Thanks to advances in science, we’re seeing a host of new building materials coming through, and some of them are extremely exciting. 

What’s great about the latest developments is that they promise to make our homes stronger, safe and friendlier to the environment. These innovations could also one day allow our homes to heal themselves so that they last forever, instead of wasting away once they reach their sell-by date. 

Interested in learning what these fantastic new high tech materials are? Read on to learn more:

Invisible Solar Cells

Today’s solar cells are big, bulky things, mainly composed of perovskite. However, there are currently designs for invisible solar cells on the test bed. These are like thin pieces of film that absorb both visible and non-visible wavelengths but look like sheets of cling-film or pieces of glass to the naked eye. 

The inconspicuous nature of these cells means that homeowners can potentially place them on top of any exterior surface, including windows and doors, to generate electricity. 

Hydroceramics

Many of us use ceramics in our homes, particularly in the kitchen and the bathroom. However, the concept behind hydroceramics is different. 

These work a little bit like the ancient Egyptian marble slabs that pharaohs used to get their servants to drag into their palaces to keep them cool in the daytime. 

The idea is actually pretty simple: create ceramic-like materials that are able to hold up to 400 percent of their weight in water. The water then passively cools the building, saving on energy costs. 

Compared to invisible solar cells, this technology is a little closer to primetime. 

Fibrex

High Tech Materials / Large Windows overlooking white capped mountains

Most homes use either wood or vinyl for their window frames. Vinyl offers resistance to decay, low maintenance and insulating properties, while wood gives homeowners a range of colors and finishes, and structural rigidity.

Fibrex, however, is a new material made from reclaimed wood and polymers which Williamsburg Window claims combines the features of both. It’s resistant to decay, like vinyl, but comes in a range of colors and finishes, like wood. 

The goal is to make windows from a material that lasts much longer than traditional wood, but offers all the same aesthetic benefits as its natural, organic substitute.

Bricks That Absorb Pollution

Living on a congested, polluted busy city interchange is dreadful for your health. Diesel fumes rise up continually, affecting your respiratory system. 

The current state-of-the-art solution to this is to install whole-home air filters to remove these particles. However, such systems are expensive and require a lot of energy. 

A superior solution might be to use bricks that absorb the pollution instead. Researchers are working on creating bricks that can filter out pollution while also allowing air to pass in and out of the building passively, without the need for vents. 

Nano Crystals

Nana technology is extremely exciting and, no doubt, something that is eventually going to change the world. Researchers now have so-called nano crystals on their test beds that allow them to tailor windows so that they allow visible light to enter, but block heat

The concept is pretty simple: find crystal structures that permit light in the visible spectrum, while forbidding it in the infrared. The hope is that this new material will give homeowners better control over the amount of light entering their properties and reduce their HVAC costs.

Microbial Cellulose

Currently, building facades and signage are made of traditional materials such as metal, plastic and vinyl. However, thanks to microbial cellulose, that might be about to change. 

Microbial cellulose is a mash of germs that can produce layered structures with helpful features for the building trade. Researchers believe that the material may be suitable for building facades, improving how they appear. A siding upgrade could take on a whole new dimension thanks to this important development. 

See-Through Wood

Transparent wood seems like a crazy idea, but the material is actually real. It’s not 100 percent transparent of course, but manufacturers are currently aiming for around 90 percent. 

Why make wood transparent? There are several reasons. First, the wood becomes a better insulator. Infrared energy cannot escape from inside the home. Second, it is also highly biodegradable. In fact, the processing it undergoes may actually increase the rate at which it can break down in the ground. 

Finally, there’s evidence that transparent wood may actually be stronger, pound for pound, than its opaque counterpart. 

Aerographite

Aerographite has the claim to fame of being the world’s lightest-weight building material. In fact, it is about 75 times less heavy than styrofoam, the material that ecommerce companies use for packaging. What’s more, it has the ability to grow stronger when compressed, thanks to its atomic structure. Engineers, therefore, might be able to use it for foundations and basements in the future. Current applications include water purification systems and satellites.

Concrete That Heals Itself

Perhaps the most exciting material development in construction today is the discovery of concrete that heals itself. 

The way it works is ingenious. First, the concrete endures damage. The owner then sprays it with some water. This then activates bacteria that live in the concrete to come alive. When they do, they start producing calcite which heals the cracks and prevents the need to remove the concrete and start again. 

The goal of the technology is to cut down on the cost of maintenance requirements and reduce greenhouse emissions. Researchers hope that bacterial impregnation will negate the need for so much concrete production in the future, reducing CO2 emissions. 

Modular Bamboo

Bamboo

Bamboo is becoming an increasingly popular interior design material, but it also offers construction benefits too. 

The idea here is to create modular bamboo building pieces. Engineers and workers can then assemble or arrange these into the proper plan quickly and efficiently. They’re low-cost, study and eco-friendly, and they are suitable for a range of different structures. What’s more, they may also be earth-quake resistant, which will allow architects to experiment with creating new forms.

14 thoughts on “High Tech Materials That Could Soon Be Making An Appearance On Your Property

  • These are all pretty cool materials for new high tech homes 😉 I love anything that will help to save on energy bills…which is all good by me and we will be updating for those reasons in certain spots of our new home. We actually purchased a smaller home for more sustainable living as have a smaller space to heat and cool and we can comfortably afford it.

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  • Wow, how interesting! These are some pretty neat high-tech materials; I would love to see the See-Through Wood. I wonder how that would really work out!

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  • I love this post. I learned a lot about building materials, and I had no idea. We should be building everything a lot smarter, instead of cheaply and quickly!

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  • These high-tech materials sound promising. I’d love a Bricks That Absorb Pollution in my home.

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  • Oh wow, so many different materials. That is interesting. I wonder how they’ll make the bricks filter the pollution and not allow it to pass into the home. I need to share this with my husband who works in the property industry x

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  • Wow! These high tech materials sounds absolutely amazing and awesome! This is interesting thanks for sharing this with us

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  • I keep hearing more and more about bamboo. I didn’t realize you could use it on outdoor construction.

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  • These are some pretty neat high-tech materials. I would really love to see the Bricks That Absorb Pollution. I wonder how that would really work out!

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  • My son just moved to a city where houses are not so expensive. The problem is his electric bill has tripled. He could use solar panels or alternative options.

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  • It’s a pretty good thing that the construction industries now are also embracing the use of eco-friendly materials.

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  • wow! So many tech materials that I don’t know nothing about them! I need an update!

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