An alternative to central heating – bubbles of heat

Dezeen and MINI Fronteirs designed a new heating system that can save energy and be much more efficient than traditional methods.

The concept of the method is based on heating a specific area rather than the entire building (especially if it is empty).  For people to feel comfortable, why not heat just the space around them ?   In other words, the idea is to create a ‘heat bubble’ around a person.   The number of people passing through corridors, rooms etc.  constantly changes and adjusting as well as directing heat from above onto every individual would be very beneficial and would automatically decrease the amount of heat required, eventually saving costs.

How does it work?

MIT’s Senseable City Lab consists of infrared lamps mounted on the ceiling. They tilt and rotate to focus beams of radiation onto people as the pass underneath. The beam moves along with you creating a local climate around a person.  Digital technology comes in handy as well. Data can be individually introduced to track one’s position in the building and to choose for him/her a pre-selected comfort zone.

Carlo Ratti, the main designer, believes that digital technology will help us to live better in the future by creating a more comfortable environment.  The entire building interior will undergo similar evolutions becoming more dynamic.

There are more questions to be asked and problems to be solved before this system can be widely applied.  For example how will the system cope with high ceilings and corresponding  timespan  before heating will effectively reach those in need ….  The project would be available on the show at Rem Koolhaas Elements exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale.

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