New Whitest Paint Ever

[skyguyscott]

An interesting article on Perdue University engineers development of whitest paint ever, lowers temperatures, so effective it could help or even replace A/C.

Key points I found interesting:

• Scientists have unveiled the whitest paint ever—a paint so powerful, it can drop the temperature by whole degrees inside buildings, potentially eliminating the need for air conditioning.
• Purdue University engineers made the paint, which consists primarily of barium sulfate, a compound used in cosmetics and ultrawhite paper products.
• The new paint reflects 98.1 percent of sunlight, which is a vast improvement over the team’s last iteration at 95.5 percent.
• The paint can keep surfaces 19 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than their ambient surroundings at night. It can also cool surfaces 8 degrees Fahrenheit below their surroundings under strong sunlight during noon hours.
• The paint’s solar reflectance is so effective, it even worked in the middle of winter. During an outdoor test with an ambient temperature of 43 degrees Fahrenheit, the paint still managed to lower the sample temperature by 18 degrees Fahrenheit.
• “If you were to use this paint to cover a roof area of about 1,000 square feet, we estimate that you could get a cooling power of 10 kilowatts,” Purdue professor Xiulin Ruan said in a statement. “That’s more powerful than the central air conditioners used by most houses.”
• their single-layer paint is the most effective product of its kind to date, replacing both costly (and less effective) heat-reducing paints, as well as more novel solutions like reflective metal plating.

Don't know if this is actually on the market yet, these academic lab results often take years to license, if ever.

[field & stream]

Very interesting. Wondering about its suitability for an Airstream roof:
1) durable enough? If not, would a protective clear coat reduce its effectiveness?
2) what is the net effect after losing desirable heat gain in cool weather?

[MMCMRET]

That would be a game changer. Thanks for the post. I would imagine that this would be out to the general public in about 3-5 years.

[Wayne&Sam]

I'd buy it in a minute.

[OTRA15]

Meh . . .

Much ado about nothing much, as it applies to the tiny scale of an Airstream roof, filled with lots of other objects and openings.

Many other variables . . .

[skyguyscott]

Originally Posted by skyguyscott

[*]their single-layer paint is the most effective product of its kind to date, replacing both costly (and less effective) heat-reducing paints, as well as more novel solutions like reflective metal plating.

I would imagine that if and when this is ever brought to market, it will likely be priced to generate a healthy profit to the licensee, and presumably Purdue university, because these things are not priced based on the cost of production, but the maximum the market will bear.

[Wayne&Sam]

Originally Posted by skyguyscott

I would imagine that if and when this is ever brought to market, it will likely be priced to generate a healthy profit to the licensee, and presumably Purdue university, because these things are not priced based on the cost of production, but the maximum the market will bear.

And nothing ever brought to market was intended to generate a profit. ??

[jaybauman]

This could be a good deal anyway. Industrial scale precipitated barium sulfate is about 1/3 the price of titanium dioxide, which is the most common white pigment. There're lots of opportunity for the intellectual property holders to make money and still offer a competitively-priced product.

I suspect there would be very little impact on an Airstream trailer. While this ultra-white color would deflect additional heat, that difference wouldn't be significant when compared to the amount of heat that comes through the windows and side walls.

[skyguyscott]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

And nothing ever brought to market was intended to generate a profit. ??

Of course. My point was the article was talking about how much cheaper this paint was compared to other heat reducing paints on the market and metal shielding. Without it being on the market, there is no way to compare prices, and as you point out, I suspect that whoever licenses this presumably patented paint would price it accordingly - Based on the market and not on production costs.

[Glenritas]

Of course one could paint the whole Airstream white with that new paint ...

But one would then have to change the lettering to Argosy

[richard5933]

Perhaps it's sacrilege to suggest it, but would a painted Airstream (not just the roof) make the stuff work even better? Has anyone done a side-by-side comparison of interior vs. exterior/ambient temperatures between an Argosy and an Airstream?

[skyguyscott]

Could you paint an Airstream Trailer, yes, several have, many of which look pretty good. At least one painted it silver. Among the advantages are easier maintenance, it looks good longer, easier to clean, etc.

Painting it all white with this new paint would likely help keep things inside cooler.

But folks tend to like the bare or polished aluminum look (or at least clear coated). If Thor did put out an all-white trailer, it would likely come with those annoying swoosh vinyl graphics that cover all the SOBs. And if not, owners would see the white as a blank slate to add their own personalized graphics, all of which would negate the thermal advantages.

There are lots of things one could do to the AS trailer design to make it more efficient, but at some point, what you end up with is no longer what you would consider an Airstream.

[Smartstream]

One of the highest costs of bringing a new paint product to market is the EPA testing and approval. When I was dealing with a paint company 25 years ago even introducing a new color to an approved paint line could cost $75,000 in EPA fees. I can't imagine what it might cost today.

[martin300662]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_to_...ero%20to%20ten.

White is white because it reflects light; whiter just means it reflects more light. However heat comes from the energy (wavelengths) above visible light, so if building a reflector it is much more significant that those wavelengths are reflected not visible light.

That's why Bus Kote and other heat reflective coatings work not because they are "whiter".

[martin300662]

PS.....yes I am a spectroscopist specializing in the use of near and mid infra-red light, and yes I have Bus Kote on our Argosy roof, and no roof-top AC for a reason!

[21Airstream]

I’m in favor of anything that makes our trailers more efficient.

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by 21Airstream

I’m in favor of anything that makes our trailers more efficient.

Then apply Bus Kote.....

Just an example; what color is the underside of the space shuttle? Black, yes? Yet that is the part designed to dissipate heat. Reflection is just one way to dissipate heat.

This story is exactly what happens when mainstream media get a hold of a story and promote to the public because they think it is a good idea without the scientific understanding behind it.

But if you really want to use science and engineering to make an aluminium constructed trailer/motorhome more efficient, you start by looking at the materials of construction. That means not looking at coating something that is constructed from materials that are excellent at thermal conduction, but rather change the materials of construction. In those terms, applying a thermal efficient coating to an Airstream/Argosy is literally 'putting lipstick on a pig'.

[smithcreek]

Originally Posted by martin300662

This story is exactly what happens when mainstream media get a hold of a story and promote to the public because they think it is a good idea without the scientific understanding behind it.

I read the "article" and wondered if the author had any grasp of what she was writing about. Zero explanations for how "ambient" temps were measured. Were they comparing it to the air temp or a black surface? If the main point of this paint is to reflect light that causes on object to heat up, what's up with claiming it cools an object off at night?

[turk123]

Hey! I have an idea! What reflects light more than anything? A mirror.

We could cover the entire trailer in aluminum and polish it to a highly reflective surface, and . . .

Oh! We already have that, now?

[OTRA15]

Bingo!