Imagine a paint that keeps surfaces cool

I feel the effects will be marginal. White paint already reflects most of the heat. And if it gets heated up slightly it will more likely loose to the surrounding rather than penetrate the wall and into the interior.

You will get more heating load from your windows, which the killer. Also ambient temperature is very high and will still need air conditioning. My 2cents based on someone who lives in the tropics.

Oon
 
Just read the Purdue brochure/Ad.

Not bad but sounds slightly optimistic and even counter Science in some points, go figure.
That they patented it and are trying to sell it to some investors may cloud the issue a little.

All it can do is reflect more infrared , nothing further unless we appeal to Magic; some statements are hard to swallow.

Such as:
the paint can keep surfaces 19 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than their ambient surroundings at night
How? By which mechanism?
If anything, *black* would be better, because it would radiate more.
That's why we paint/anodize our heat sinks black.
The paint's solar reflectance is so effective, it even worked in the middle of winter.
Irrelevant.


Oh, and it claims to use Barium Sulfate.
Nothing new under the Sun (pun intended 😉 ) , I am a Photographer and have used Baryte (coated) Paper since forever, in fact invented in the 1880´s or so.
 
When I was attempting to get brighter white paint for a transportation project some 15 years ago, the chem engineers kept reminding me that they still had to leave room for the binders and such that actually make it “paint”, is a lot more than just pigments…
 
Somebody patented turmeric in the USA, the Indian government had it thrown out on the grounds of native (traditional) knowledge.

This is bad, a university making wild claims, removes a little of the respect for the institution.

Some of these cooling paints may be mixed with SBL (water proofing latex) and white cement for better adhesion and crack sealing. They usually come off in the winter, so every year the user cleans with a wire brush, and applies a new coat.
Cheap, about $2 for 5 kilos, enough for 600 sq. feet of tiles. This price is without the added latex and white cement.
 
The highly reflective white paint is based on inexpensive calcium carbonate as found in shells, limestone and chalk.

However, it remains to be seen how white will it stay when subjected to the elements.

The world'''s whitest white is here—and it'''s coming to a roof near you

That's the old news, the newer news is according to the link in post #1 states:

"Their previous ultra-white paint was a formulation made of calcium carbonate, an earth-abundant compound commonly found in rocks and seashells."

also...

"What makes the whitest paint so white

Two features give the paint its extreme whiteness. One is the paint’s very high concentration of a chemical compound called barium sulfate, which is also used to make photo paper and cosmetics white.

...

The second feature is that the barium sulfate particles are all different sizes in the paint. How much each particle scatters light depends on its size, so a wider range of particle sizes allows the paint to scatter more of the light spectrum from the sun.
"

and...

"The new whitest paint formulation reflects up to 98.1% of sunlight – compared with the 95.5% of sunlight reflected by the researchers’ previous ultra-white paint"
 
Last edited:
Cool!!!!! 😀 (ooops!!!! ... now I will be fined 😱 )
.
.
.
.
.
Serious: your post sums it all.

And in any case, I bet mirror polished Aluminum reflects better than any "white" .... or Thermos flasks bottles would be painted white instead.
 
People have been painting their houses white in hot countries for some time.

Recently the blackest of blacks and the whitest of whites paints and coatings are being developed.

With the white, attention to how the specific paint reflects infrared is being considered.

This is just development, not revolution. Putting the tech into wider use would be smewht revolutionary.

dave
 
Last edited:
you know, none of this addresses burning of the rain forest...
nor saves any dolphin !!!!!!!

Does wearing a Greta Thunberg T shirt apply?

At least a text only one, with "How you Dare!!!" silkscreened front and back .... with 98.1% reflective Barium Sulphate pigmented Textile Ink of course.

Finding_The_Best_Plastisol_Ink.jpg
 
I was when working a general builder and painting was part of it. I never encountered a really white paint in the UK, there was always a hint of rose, green or blue but when I went to live in southern Spain they did have a real white wall paint.

As to white reflecting heat yes that is true. One day I was visiting a nearby village, looking at possible buys of derelict houses. There was a high spot which had a small chapel with a small car park. It had a low wall surrounding it part of which was capped with red tiles and part had been rendered and painted in this dead white. The temperature was 41C, I touched one of the red tiles, if i had left my fingers on it i would have been burned - you could easily cook food on these tiles. Touching the painted rendering - it was only warm.

The continued use of slate and tiles as roof coverings is all about the 'inertia effect'. It has become the 'fashion' now in a lot of European countries to use black/dark grey aluminium for windows/doors and plastic fencing - absolutely insane and because it is fashionable the stupid punters cough up.