Wildlife managers design artificial structures, such as bird houses and bat boxes, to provide alternative nesting and roosting sites that aid wildlife conservation. However, artificial structures for wildlife may not be equally efficient at all sites due to varying climate or habitat characteristics influencing thermal properties. For example, bat boxes are a popular measure employed to provide compensatory or supplementary roost sites for bats and educate the public. Yet, bat boxes are often thermally unstable or too cold to fulfill reproductive females needs in northern temperate environments. To help improve the thermodynamics of bat boxes, we tested the effect of (1) three mountings, (2) four orientations, and (3) twelve bat box designs on the internal temperature of bat boxes. We recorded temperatures in bat boxes across a climate gradient at seven sites in Quebec, Canada. Bat boxes mounted on buildings had warmer microclimates at night than those on poles and those facing east warmed sooner in the morning than those facing west or south. Our best new model based on passive solar architecture (Ncube PH1) increased the time in the optimal temperature range (22–40 °C) of targeted species by up to 13% compared to the most commonly used model (Classic 4-chamber) when mounted on a building with an east orientation (other designs presented in the Supplementary Information). Based on bioenergetic models, we estimated that bats saved up to 8% of their daily energy using the Ncube PH1 compared to the Classic 4-chamber when mounted on a building with an east orientation. We demonstrate that the use of energy-saving concepts from architecture can improve the thermal performance of bat boxes and potentially other wildlife structures as well.

Wildlife managers design artificial structures, such as bird and bat houses, to provide alternative habitats that aid wildlife conservation. However, prototypes may not be equally efficient at all sites due to varying climate or habitat characteristics influencing thermal properties. For example, bat houses are a popular measure employed to protect bats and educate citizens, yet bat houses have achieved limited success in cool climates. To address this problem, we tested different orientations and mountings for both traditional and newly designed bat house models based on modern architectural energy saving concepts, by recording temperatures in bat houses across a climate gradient in Quebec, Canada. Bat houses mounted on buildings had warmer conditions at night than those on poles and warmed sooner in the morning when facing east. Our new insulated model with passive heating maximized the time in the extended optimal temperature range (22 − 40 °C) of targeted species by up to 13% compared to the Classic model, providing bats with an estimated average daily energy savings of up to 7.8% when mounted on a building. We conclude that the use of energy-saving concepts from architecture can improve the thermal performance of wildlife structures.