Snow is being stored in an experimental building in the town of Bibai on the
northern island of Hokkaido, Japan, to see if it can keep apartments cool during
the summer. First antifreeze is cooled by piping it through the snow, then it
circulates round the six-storey building. Although the cost of building
snow-conditioned buildings would be high, running costs are negligible and far
cheaper than air conditioning, says designer Masayoshi Kobiyama of Hokkaido’s
Muroran Institute of Technology. Kobiyama says the system is ideal for countries
where winters are very cold and summers very hot.
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features

Environment
Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass is still an essential read
Culture

ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû1000¼¯ºÏ
Read the winner of this year’s Young Science Writer Award
Comment

Life
Extinct relative of koalas discovered in Western Australia
News

Physics
The 50-year quest to create a quantum spin liquid may finally be over
Features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
Man destined for Alzheimer's may have been saved by accidental therapy
2
Woman in cancer remission without treatment in highly unusual case
3
Extinct relative of koalas discovered in Western Australia
4
We have figured out a new way to send messages into the past
5
A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it really began
6
The 50-year quest to create a quantum spin liquid may finally be over
7
Honey has been used as medicine for centuries – does it really work?
8
Is consciousness more fundamental to reality than quantum physics?
9
Hantavirus: Where has the deadly cruise ship outbreak come from?
10
The problem of cosmic inflation and how to solve it