New Discovery: Cooling Paint That Could Cut Emissions and Reduce Temperature

Scientists have developed a white paint with strong cooling properties. They can cool surfaces 1.7C below the ambient temperature and cools up to 10C at night time, thereby reducing the reliance on air conditioning. The white paint also features a radioactive cooling technology which may be used in commercial paints. It is less expensive to manufacture, and it reflects 95.5 percent of light.

The Cooling Paint

Prof. Xiulin Ruan, from Purdue University in Indiana and the author of the study said that in an experiment where they painted as surface outside under direct sunlight, the body cooled 1.7 C below the ambient temperature. At night, the surface even cooled up to 10C below the ambient temperature.

He said that such an amount is significant cooling power that can offset the air conditioning usage of buildings.

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How the Paint Works

Ruan said that they added a high amount of calcium carbonate to the mix. Using high concentrations of the substance with differing particles made then develop a paint that reflected 95.5 percent of sunlight. Each particle size can only scatter one wavelength effectively. Thus they used different particle sizes to scatter all the wavelengths. Such is a significant contribution that resulted in very high reflectance.

Calcium carbonate is an earth-abundant compound instead of titanium dioxide particles.

Cooling Paint Can Cut Carbon Emissions

The lighting, heating, and cooling of all types of buildings are responsible for around 28 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. The heating and cooling of buildings are primarily powered by coal, oil, and gas.

Europe, for instance, sources 75 percent of these energy needs for the buildings from fossil fuels.

Researchers have been finding ways to increase the efficiency of cooling and heating for decades.

Several reflective paints have been used outside of office and homes that are meant to reflect the sunlight away and reduce the temperature inside the buildings.

However, products that can deflect the sun's rays to lower the temperature of the building than ambient conditions are yet to be developed.

This recent development is, therefore, a breakthrough.

The paint features a radiative cooling technology and possibly reflect 95.5percent of sunlight that reaches its surface back into outer space.

Ruan and his study team's research was published on October 21 in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science.

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Complete Application of the Painting

Ruan expects that the technology would benefit a wide range of industries: residential and commercial buildings, data centers, warehouses, food storage, automobile, outdoor electrical equipment, military structures, and utility vehicles.

The paint lacks a metallic component. Thus it does not interfere with electromagnetic signals; it is an ideal paint for telecommunication companies to overheating of outdoor equipment, a significant step for enabling 5G technology.

The cooling paint that is made of the earth-abundant compound, calcium carbonate is compatible with the manufacturing process of commercial paint. It is cheaper to use and helps reduce emissions from buildings.

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