Singapore’s weather is getting increasingly humid and warm, and some are finding our living conditions, especially those living in high-rise flats; sometimes the smaller apartment sizes can allow high temperatures to build up.
As such, there are home owners who choose heat insulating paint, such as the Nippon’s SolaReflec paint for their exterior wall painting and roof painting to help curb such hot and humid living conditions.
Heat Reflective Paint: What does it do?
They are basically solar reflective paints used to reduce the heat and temperature within to keep the building interior environment cooler. They have properties in their formula to be able to reflect off heat, and create a reflective barrier, that when applied on the roof surface or exterior wall, is able to enable the interior to be cooler because they absorb lesser heat from the sun outside, as compared to normal paint.
The building will still continue to absorb thermal heat from the external environmental condition, these thermal coatings can only reflect off heat to a certain degree. By reflecting a percentage of solar energy from the sun rays, the rate of the heat building up within your apartment is slowed down.Therefore it does not necessarily “cool” your interior like a cooling agent, it simply slows down the absorption rate of the heat going into the interior environment.
Thermal Barrier Coating Technology
The heat-blocking technology in the paint formulation brings about not just aesthetics but gives the consumer a better sense of feel. Other than satisfying the sense of sight, as they do come in a variety of colors just like the regular paints, it is also able to enhance the physical feel for the user.
Energy Saving
This kind of insulating paints are sometimes known as energy-saving paints. not that they have any direct impact on the fuel or energy efficiency of the appliances or the energy consumption of your household but because they are able to control the speed at which the heat builds up in your homes and offices, it helps certain appliances to perform better and more efficiently in the absence of huge amount of heat. For eg, your air conditioners, because of the lower amount of heat present in your bedroom or living room, the efficiency of the air-conditioner kicks in faster, so its efficiency level is higher. They require lesser energy to give the same cooler temperature to your environments required as compared to normal circumstances, leading to lower electricity costs.
As such there is a cooler control in the environment. Another reason why it is called the energy-saving paint is because of the lesser carbon dioxide emission it gives. If there is lesser CO2 emission in the air, it is also eco-friendly for the environment. Such paints can bring down the temperature of the interior to a good few degrees lower.
Solar Reflective Paint for Roof & Landed House Painting Applications
The solar reflective paint are usually formulated to be highly stretchable because it is used more as exterior paints. It has high elastomeric properties which makes it pliable despite its thick viscosity that makes the paint quality extremely hard-wearing and durable. It has to be highly pliable in terms of texture when it is applied because it has to withstand the harsh conditions of the external environment, subjecting to not only wear and tear but also climatic conditions such as contraction and expansion movements of the extreme temperatures that can be drastic during the day and night times. Because of this flexibility it tends to withstand such movement better and this also attributes to to its ability to cover hairline cracks to maintain a smoother surface over a longer period of time.
It is also made to be resistant against dirt and accumulation of the dust and particles on the painted surface as well.
It is popularly used for roof area applications, though not so much on metallic roofs, because it is not made to bond well on metallic surfaces like zinc or aluminium roofs. But they are commonly used for flat concrete roofs especially for apartments on higher floors where the proximity to the heat from the sun is nearer, where heat can transmit through the roof concrete slab without any other volumes of spaces above them, they get the most of the indirect sunlight hitting on them.
They are also used for landed properties in Singapore for external wall painting. Landed properties are individual dwellings with little or no neighboring vacuums or spaces that protect them from the heat. These landed houses, apart from inter-terraces, like semi-detached or detached bungalows, are also getting the most of the indirect heat from the sun through their walls surrounding their interiors. These kind of thermal insulating paints are also quite well sought after by such home owners.
You’ll need one coat of wall sealer or primer as an undercoat before applying such topcoats of heat insulating paint for a better lasting job.