How smart home materials can shield us from extreme heat and cut energy bills all year

Australia is getting hotter. Climate change is driving more frequent and prolonged extreme heatwaves and our homes are struggling to keep up. Alarmingly, many Australian houses – especially older ones – weren’t designed for these harsh conditions…. That’s where smart materials come in. They can significantly change some of their properties in a controlled manner in response to external stimuli, such as temperature. And they are being incorporated into materials such as bricks and roof cladding to make homes more resistant to heat fluctuations.