What if your house changed color with the seasons? [View all]

...This ‘climate-responsive’ paint could make it happen
American designer Joe Doucet has developed a pigment that changes color, depending on the temperature. It could be a game changer for people living in the world’s temperate zones.

By Rosa Rahimi, CNN

Published Jun 9, 2025 2:51 PM EDT | Updated Jun 9, 2025 2:51 PM EDT


(Joe Doucet x Partners via CNN Newsource)

(CNN) — When Joe Doucet bought a new house in Katonah, New York, he wanted to make it as environmentally friendly as possible. As a designer and inventor, he immediately found himself wondering whether the exterior of his home could play a role in mitigating the effects of climate change.

“One of the things I had not really considered before was: What color should I paint the house?” he told CNN, speaking in a video call.

It’s well known that light-colored buildings reflect heat andstay cooler while darker ones absorb — just compare chillyScandinavia’s black housing tradition to the whitewashed homes found across warmMediterranean countries. But what shade would perform best in a climate like New York’s, with hot summers but dark and snowy winters?

Doucet started by 3D-printing small scale models of his house, complete with similar levels of insulation, and painting them in different colors. Over the course of a year, he found that in winter the inside temperature of theblack model was on average 7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the white one. In summer, the white model house was 12 degrees Fahrenheit cooler.
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