Posted on 09/19/2021 5:33:05 PM PDT by American Number 181269513
White houses are often boring, but they might just save the planet. As USA Today reports, Purdue University researchers have developed an ultra-white paint (it just earned a Guinness World Record) that reflects 98.1 percent of solar radiation while outputting infrared heat. As this leaves the surface cooler than the environment (regular paint warms the surface), it could effectively replace air conditioning in some cases — it produces a cooling power of 10kW for a 1,000sq. ft. roof, or more than a typical house AC unit.
There are existing paints made to reflect heat, but they reflect no more than 90 percent of sunlight and don't cool surfaces. The team didn't have much breathing room, either — an even whiter paint might have compromised it.
The trick was to use a high ratio of barium sulfate, a compound you often see in cosmetics and photo paper, in varying particle sizes. The wider range of sizes helps scatter more of the light spectrum and thus reflect more sunlight.
It's not clear how close this extremely white paint is to your local store, but the researchers are fully bent on commercializing their work. They've teamed with a company to mass-produce and sell the paint, and have already filed patents. If it lives up to the billing, though, it could play an important role in fighting climate change. It could reduce or eliminate the need for air conditioning in some homes, particularly in warm regions with ample sunlight. That could reduce emissions and power consumption, and might save you some money on hot summer days.
Right. Who wants to have to constantly clean a white house? This idea is just not happening.
Didn’t Obama suggest all houses have white roofs? ...climate change was his reason
“I painted a roof white with elastomeric reflective paint in the California desert. Worked like a charm”
We did this on Guam. It was $97.00 per 5 gallons and took 35 gallons to cover the concrete roof about 1/4 inch thick.
I was afraid the airport was gonna tell our roof had blinded pilots landing at the airport and make me change the color. It dropped our electric bill by nearly $75 a month. I just had to go up there once a year or so and clean the leaves our of the drains.
On a dollars saved scale, this was the best home improvement we ever did.
As a white guy living in a light grey house with a white roof, I am very cool.
I like white houses. With red doors.
Will the toothpaste work as well?
While white reflects more wavelengths of light, the authors seem to have no consideration to what results from that reflected light in the immediate local sense in terms of the temperature of the air the light is being reflected into.
While white does reflect the most light, that reflection alone must be considered.
Black – the color that absorbs all visible wavelengths of light – attracts the most heat, followed by violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red, in descending order. So, next to white, red absorbs less light, compared to all the other colors.
Now imagine in a very hot place and how it will look, to the human eye, to walk down a street at noon with all the houses painted ultra white. Talk about needing sun glasses!!!!
Why not look at what people do who have high heat and lots of sun on most days. In Morocco a color used often on the outside of buildings is a sort of dull red, like the red of red stones in Sedona Arizona. I think the Moroccans know what they are doing.
Hey, if it helps save da erf...... 😨
Sorry but it’s air conditioning not simply air cooling.
Reflecting heat may be nice but it does not remove humidity from the Air.
Talk about your over sell
“...it could play an important role in fighting climate change.”
Hahahahaha...
Mid-Atlantic region here...every year I have to wage chemical warfare on all the white trim and porch pillars on my house to get the black mildew off.
Why not just cover the exterior walls and roof of your house with mirrors? So what if it blinds anyone who drives by, it will cut down on your A/C costs.
Once again, whiteness saves the world...😂
For being too white?
That’s racist! LOL......whoever came up with this idea can kiss my grits.....it ain’t gonna happen here in the 5th ring of summer hell....TEXAS!!
Red is also, historically, the cheapest color dye, because there were lots of sources.
The reason the Roman legions word red uniforms was simply: red was the cheapest color to dye their uniforms.
Not to hide the blood?
I imagine it would work well in a dry hot clime but not so good in a cold one.
Funny they don’t mention that in the winter time your house will also not absorb sun heat and it’ll cost you twice as much in heating bills.
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