We all know the common sense of taking a walk in the afternoon will cause many dehydrating symptoms, but try walking barefoot on the road. It surely is going to give you some serious burns, but what if we could use that heat to produce energy to power the same lights at night. A team of recent MIT graduates has developed roof tiles that change color based on the temperature. The tiles become white when it's hot, allowing them to reflect away most of the sun’s heat. When its cold they turn black and absorb heat just when it’s needed, reducing many of the expenses that go in heating or cooling a building.

Simply called Thermeleon which rhymes with chameleon since it takes a few of its tricks; uses commercial polymers and solvents encapsulated between a clear plastic top layer and a black backing layer. When cold, the polymer remains dissolved in the solvent, letting the black backing show through. When it gets hot, the polymer condenses into a white, heat-reflecting surface. This is clearly an innovative solution that can be adopted by most building contractors as the green horizon gets more takers.

Via [Solarfeeds]