Sunflower-inspired cooling system delivered 135% more cooling power

Representative Image of a sunflower-inspired cooling system tilting to optimize radiative cooling under direct sunlight (AI Generated Image) Researchers in China have developed a radiative cooling system inspired by the way sunflowers track the sun, with experiments showing a 135% increase in cooling flux at solar noon compared with a fixed horizontal version of the same selective emitter. The system, called dynamic sky view factor steering (DSVFS), changes the orientation of a cooling surface to reduce its exposure to direct sunlight while retaining access to the sky. The work is reported in the September 2026 arXiv preprint Round-the-Clock Sub-Ambient Cooling via Dynamic Sky View Factor Steering. Five of the six authors, Qiuyu Chen, Minghao Dong, Zheng Zhang, Xiaodong Zhao and Zhen Chen, are affiliated with Southeast University in Nanjing. Peng Xiao is affiliated with the State Grid Electric Power Research Institute, State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co., Ltd., Nanjing. The study is a preprint and has not yet undergone peer review.How the sunflower-inspired cooling system worksRadiative cooling allows a surface to release heat as infrared radiation toward the sky. During the day,...