Played out on a computer over hundreds of generations, a survival-of-the-fittest programming method adapted by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers has spawned, of all things, the design for a more efficient rooftop air-conditioning system.

The evolutionary tack optimized the sequence of connections within the snaking arrangement of cooling tubes in the air conditioner’s heat exchanger. The unit’s U.S. manufacturer subsequently implemented the changes as a prototype for NIST. The computer-generated design yielded a 3-percent gain in overall performance, confirming the results of prior analysis by NIST researchers.

That amount of improvement could be enough for a manufacturer to achieve compliance with increasingly stringent energy efficiency standards. It also could translate into material savings—a reduction in the amount of costly copper tubing in a heat exchanger without sacrificing performance.

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