#betterbuilds

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“Awnings: a simple cooling tech we apparently forgot about” 🪟

This video talks about how window awnings can greatly help cool your home.

Another thing I want to add is that window awnings can protect windows. We get pretty big hail here, and (wood or aluminum) awnings can save your window glass.

I have also heard of “Clamshell Awnings” which are on hinges, so you can remove the poles and lower the awning to cover and protect windows in extreme weather.

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Chain Mail Inspired Fabric that Stiffens on Demand 🛡👚🏰

Alright, this is pretty cool.

A team created a medieval chain mail inspired fabric. Regularly, it is flexible as fabric and can be worked into any shape, but when it is compressed, it becomes a material so hard and strong, that it could be used for construction.

This could dramatically change both casts and braces, as well as construction. As mentioned in the video, it could even be used for emergency situations; such as for creating a bridge in a matter of minutes.

As of right now, it is just at a prototype stage, but now that they have a design that works, they just have to change the material to something that response to a specific stimuli.

It does still look much like medieval chain mail, but instead of rings, it appears they took triangles (which are a stronger shape), and made them into diamonds that are interlocked.

Left: medieval chainmail | Right: the prototype

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The Historic Concept of Under-Floor Heating

Today, under-floor heating is done with electrical systems or pipes of hot water worked in a pattern under (you guessed it) the floor of the home.

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Since hot air rises, this can provide a more efficient and even heat through out the room.

It is a more "gentle" heat, so most people use smart thermostats, and occasionally pair it with a secondary heat (for cold climates), such as a heat pump.

An Ondal is the historic Korean technology which used the smoke from a fire to do the same thing.

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While it may sound immediately dangerous, they were actually careful to cover the under parts of the house with clay and other types of fire-resistant material. As an added benefit, smoke can prevent mold/rot, and deter insects.

This technology dates back to before circa 5000 BC.

Comparatively, this same method is also how bath houses were heated. While the ones in medieval Europe did have a reputation of burning down, some ancient Roman’s had more luck.

Called the “Hypocaust” system, which apparently means “heat from bellow,” and they did just that.

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Under floor heating even goes back further than these examples.

It is funny how often “new” technology is often just updated historic ideas.