Electrochemically Driven Thermal Regulation Device for Dynamic Switching between Daytime Radiative Cooling and Solar Heating with Large Solar Modulation Contrast

Dynamic switching between daytime radiative cooling (DRC) and solar heating (SH), adapting to varying environmental conditions, offers an energy-saving and sustainable solution for all-seasonal thermal regulation of buildings and other outdoor facilities. However, many existing SH/DRC switchers can only alternate between high transmission and high reflection in the solar spectrum, hindering the effective harvesting of solar energy. Herein, by integrating the reversible metal electrodeposition technology and optical metamaterial absorber for the first time, we develop a novel device enabling in situ and active switching between SH/DRC states with a large modulation contrast of Δ<i>A</i>_sol = 0.82, whose superior performance is further validated by outdoor temperature measurements and building level energy-saving simulations. Our work not only opens new opportunities for thermal regulation devices and materials with higher environmental adaptability but also highlights the promising role of RMED in realizing highly efficient dynamic photonic devices.