Another method involves 'switching' through mechanical force, which may be useful and has been "widely investigated in [PDRC] polymer coatings owing to their stretchability." For this method, "to achieve a switchable coating in εLWIR, mechanical stress/strain can be applied in a thin PDMS film, consisting of a PDMS grating and embedded nanoparticles." One study estimated, with the use of this method, that "19.2% of the energy used for heating and cooling can be saved in the US, which is 1.7 times higher than the only cooling mode and 2.2 times higher than the only heating mode," which may inspire additional research and development.