Danish coating manufacturer Nowocoat has taken out a U.S. patent on its Solvent-free Infrared Reflective Surface Coatings, which it will soon introduce to the U.S. B2B market as Coolingpaint. The new coatings, available in roofing, façade, and woodwork formulations, are designed and patented to reflect up to 90% of infrared energy from the sun, reducing the roof’s heat absorption by up to 20%.
According to the manufacturer, the technology on which Coolingpaint is based was originally developed by the U.S. military in an effort to make planes less visible to radar. The chemically-homogenized pigments incorporate microscopic mirrors, which reflect the sun’s infrared rays and reduce the home’s heat gain.
“An untreated roof can reach surface temperatures of 90°C, while the temperature on a roof treated with Coolingpaint Roof is reduced by up to 15%,” says Ole E. Jensen, CEO of Nowocoat A/S. “In practice, this means that it is possible to reduce the Urban Heat Island effect and, not least, reduce the energy consumed by cooling units placed on the rooftop. The better that surfaces are able to reflect the sun’s rays, the more the temperature can be kept down - both on the surface and inside the building - and here Coolingpaint is a very financially and environmentally attractive solution.”
The paint also includes Nowocoat’s SlowRelease-Protection additive, an anti-fungal and anti-algae additive that only activates in moist weather. It has been tested to meet international standards for UV-stability, adhesion, peeling, blistering, crack formation, high weather resistance, fungal and algal growth, gloss and color change.
“In many ways, Coolingpaint is a product with huge potential - not just here in Denmark, but also particularly abroad, and the technology behind it is interesting to many different segments,” says Jensen. “The need for cooling is increasing in most places around the world, but also here in our northern latitudes. Coolingpaint makes it possible to use the sun-reflecting paint to reduce the temperature on the treated surfaces significantly and in that way, among other things, reduce the energy consumption for cooling.”
The Coolingpaint formulations will be available as private-label paint solutions for existing paint and coating manufacturers in the U.S. nowocoat.dk/en/
