Sophia Masciarelli

Biomimicry Research
Energy & Sustainability
Due 04.25.17

Did you know that more than half of annual household energy consumption in the
United States can be attributed to heating and cooling? That equates to the largest
household expense and an overall very unsustainable industry. However, there are
many ways that the practice of heating and cooling ones home can be vastly improved
to be more efficient, more sustainable, and more effective. We need only turn to Mother
Nature for inspiration. Biomimicry is often referred to as the sincerest form of flattery,
and is formally defined as innovation methods that seek sustainable solutions by
emulating nature's time-tested patterns and strategies (by Mark E. Crawford for the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers). Biomimicry can be utilized in engineering
and design to transform current practices to into biologically inspired sustainability and
efficiency; in nature, virtually nothing is left to waste, making these designs the perfect
model for which to base our plans.
For example, scientists have observed termite mounds in Africa that remain cool
even throughout the hottest part of the day. These mounds include a very important
design aspect: air pockets. This system of air pockets distributed throughout the mound
allows for natural ventilation through convection. Evidence for this includes a building
design inspired by the termites nests located in a shopping center in Zimbabwe. The
system cools itself using outside air and as a result, uses only 10% as much energy as
conventional air-conditioning.
Another very promising example of this is in the design of flippers of whales.
Humpback whale flippers are extremely efficient, producing a ton of lift relative to
energy input thanks to their bumpy design. Pennsylvania based company, WhalePower,
has created a fan design incorporating this bumpy pattern that can move 25% more air
while using 20% less energy overall. This design can be applied to not only cooling
fans, but also the power wind turbines more efficiently.
Finally, in terms of heating more efficiently using biomimicry, birds which dwell in
cold climates have special adaptations that allow them to do so. Some of these
adaptations include concentrated veins and arteries in their feet. The configuration
actually heats up the blood closer to the animals core and cools the blood near the
edges of the extremities. By keeping cooler blood closer to the snow, less body heat is
lost overall. The ideals of this design have are being employed at the industrial scale by
 Sophia Masciarelli
Biomimicry Research
Energy & Sustainability
Due 04.25.17

strategically placing main heat sources in a flow pattern within an area to maximize
efficiency.
These are just a few of the ways that biomimicry can be used to engineer the
heating and cooling industry to be both more efficient and more effective.

Sources:
1. Heating & Cooling. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2017, from https://energy.gov/public-
services/homes/heating-cooling
2. Biomimicry: Engineering's Sincerest Form of Flattery. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2017,
from https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/bioengineering/biomimicry-
engineering-s-sincerest-form-of-flatter
3. Cooling Down In The Heat. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2017, from
https://asknature.org/collections/cooling-down-in-the-heat/#.WP9EN4jys2w