Climate-friendly air conditioning inspired by termites. (2023, July 6). ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 21, 2023, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230706124549.htm

At Lund University in Sweden, new research was made inspired by termites. They discovered a new system for future buildings that achieves the same effect as traditional climate control, except this has a greater energy efficiency and it’s without its carbon dioxide footprint. Termite mounds have an advanced ventilation system that creates air circulation throughout the structure while can help regulating temperature and humidity. The interior of termite mounds consists of thousands of interconnected channels, tunnels, and air chambers that capture wind energy so they can breathe which is what the study focuses on. 

Many sensors and regulating devices are placed in a climate-adaptive building envelope through miniaturization (making something small), durability/sustainability, and cost reduction. This creates a regulation of the indoor climate and control factors that include temperature and humidity; this is all done without relying on large fans and heating and air conditioning systems. The mechanisms are dependent on being able to create complex internal geometries all of which is only possible through the process of 3D printing. I thought it was interesting how they were able to derive this climate control device from the idea of how termites live. They are two completely different topics, but somehow have the same concept. This is an issue we should all be discussing considering how much it can control the climate sustainably as temperatures continue to rise due to climate change.