Novel Materials for Sustainable Management of the Indoor Climate

Dear Colleagues,

Recent advancements in materials science have led to nanomaterials, metamaterials, optical materials, and other novel materials with enhanced functional capabilities. At the same time, energy demands for maintaining comfortable conditions in occupied spaces, including regulated temperature, lighting, and air quality, have increased rapidly, and these demands are negatively impacting the environment. For example, the International Energy Agency has reported that the building sector is responsible for almost 40% of global CO₂ emissions. The goal of this Special Issue is to explore the nexus between novel materials and energy efficient control of the indoor climate. That is, to present papers wherein advanced materials have been applied in a sustainable fashion to control the indoor climate in residences, public spaces, or other specialized areas, such as hospitals or greenhouses.

Papers relating to the advancement, development, optimization, or application of thermal energy storage materials, new insulation materials, materials for ventilation energy recovery, photonic materials for solar and thermal radiation management, radiative cooling materials, low-emissivity coatings, smart materials for windows, luminescent solar concentrators for building energy applications, and materials for passive ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, and purification are welcome. Papers with a focus on the life-cycle assessment of materials used in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and lighting technologies are also welcome.

Dr. Paul O'Brien
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Thermal Energy Storage materials
• New insulation materials
• Materials for ventilation energy recovery
• Photonic materials for solar and thermal radiation management
• Radiative cooling materials
• Novel materials for efficient HVAC systems
• Luminescent solar concentrators for building energy applications
• Materials for passive ventilation, cooling, air conditioning and purification
• Life Cycle Assessment of Materials used for Heating, Ventilation, Air-conditioning and Lighting
• Materials for smart windows