Insulating paints should merely be the icing on the cake of an otherwise well-conceived plan to cut heating and cooling costs, and not be used in place of traditional bulk insulation.
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Dear EarthTalk: Do insulating paints actually insulate and save energy? If they do, are they environmentally friendly to use?
-- Bob Dibrindisi, Easthampton, MA
Paint additives that claim insulating qualities have been marketed since the late 1990s, but energy research organizations have not confirmed their insulating value. For its part, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not recommend using paints or coatings in place of traditional bulk insulation. “We haven’t seen any independent studies that can verify their insulating qualities,” the agency reports. The federal government does rate roofing paint for its energy efficiency, but such findings only take into account a substance’s ability to reflect heat off the roof—not its insulating properties per se—to keep the building cooler.
According to the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the use of so-called insulated paints is in most cases “difficult to justify on the basis of savings in energy costs alone.” Meanwhile, the non-profit EnergyIdeas Clearinghouse, a partnership between Washington State University and the nonprofit Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, found that under ideal circumstances insulating paints can achieve a “reduction in heat gain” of around 20 percent on freshly-painted sun-exposed walls, but notes that such walls will only face direct sunlight for a limited part of even the clearest summer day. Also, the clearinghouse reports that “heat gain reductions…are significant only for sun-bathed surfaces” and that the “reflectivity of the painted surface generally declines considerably with time.”
Alex Wilson of the website BuildingGreen.com is not a fan of insulating paints: "To say that there is a lot of hype about insulating paints…is an understatement,” he tells the website Treehugger.com. “The Internet is rife with claims of paints that dramatically reduce heat transfer—usually based on some technological magic spun off from NASA. While these products may have some relevance in the extreme conditions of outer space, manufacturers of paints containing [insulating additives] are making claims that defy the laws of physics…when they claim they can save significant energy in buildings."
Nevertheless, for certain applications, especially in concert with traditional forms of insulation underneath, insulating paint can help reduce energy expenditures and air conditioning bills accordingly. For those who want to forge ahead with insulating paint despite the limited benefits, some of the leading brands to look for include Insuladd, Hy-Tech, Therma-Guard and Eagle Coatings’ SuperTherm.
Adding insulating paint should merely be the icing on the cake of an otherwise well-conceived plan to cut heating and cooling costs. Installing a traditional form of insulation would be the first defense. A reflective, radiant barrier on the roof structure in the attic also could offer significant help, according to the Florida Solar Energy Center. Thermal-pane windows and energy-conscious practices will contribute to the effort. Finally, consider trees and other landscape shading, which the U.S. Department of Energy recommends as an effective way of passively cooling your home. For more ideas, visit the “do-it-yourself energy audit tool” on the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Home Energy Saver website.
CONTACTS: U.S. EPA, www.epa.gov; EnergyIdeas Clearinghouse, www.energyideas.org; Insuladd, www.insuladd.com, Hy-Tech, www.hytechsales.com; Eagle Coatings, www.eaglecoatings.net; Therma-Guard, www.befreetech.com/thermaguard.htm; Home Energy Saver, www.hes.lbl.gov.
EarthTalk is produced by E/The Environmental Magazine. SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php. EarthTalk is now a book! Details and order information at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalkbook.
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10 Comments
Add CommentInsulation is a way to control energy (heat) flow. Reflective materials and reflective paints are not insulative but definitly can control heat flow as any one that has painted a dark roof white can attest.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm going to paint the top of my igloo white!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBTW, where the hell is all that Global Warming you Greenies have been promising, eh?
Benjamin Moore is a great product... http://www.aboffs.com/paint.htm
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCeramic Addtives to paint coatings definitely assists the coating in retarding heat transfer. Insulation in the walls, no matter how thick or high R rating, only slows down heat transfer [.]
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAluminum sheets with an insulative material sandwiched in-between, also significantly inhibits heat transfer but, has no R rating, as fiberglass or foam insulate does, for which heat transfer can be measured.
On a passive level, using a light colored insulative coating both on the exterior and interior outside perimeter building walls and in the attic spaces or on the roof prior to tiling or shingling, can reduce A/C energy use significantly, especially when your paying .12 - .24 Kwh in the sunbelt areas of the country. Dark paints can add a 20% heat load to a building. stay with light colors and if it makes sense monetarily, use insulative additives on a case by case basis, after you do your due diligence on its over-all effectiveness. Utility sourced Energy costs aren't going to get any cheaper, anytime soon.
It is as a matter of fact not worth the air one uses to discuss the subject. These types of claims in the paint industry are blatant skulduggery in line with the claims that a special paint can hold a badly build house together. An onion award for the designers/developers - a degree in paint chemistry would also help! RW
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI didn't see any mention of ThermaCote who has had a product in the market for almost 25 years that passes California standard for air quality in classrooms and offices and is currently making the difference in "Building Envelope Integrity" with a product that only weighs 5lbs a gallon. When all the facts are in, the naysayers will owe some appologies to SOME manufacturers. It is a fact that some of the claims that are made are rediculous, but it would not be fair to lump all manufacturers of these products together in one catagory. The truth will come out.
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Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPaint on Energy Savings
Many people are unaware of a product that's been around for many years.
Heatshield-r20. Insulating paint additive.
It's simply mixed into to any type paint before you paint your interior or exterior walls and ceilings.
In hotter climates it is also used in Attic.
This procedure starts working immediately by slowing you heat loss or gain.
It will lower your thermostat in the winter and raise it in the summer by 3 to 5 degrees.
So this helps save the environment and you money.
While giving you a more comfortable home while saving you money on your energy cost.
Be cautious of Aluminum spray on's as they could be the future Lead paints and asbestos of tomorrow.
Please check www.heatshield-r20.com for more information.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPaint on Energy Savings
Many people are unaware of a product that's been around for many years.
Heatshield-r20. Insulating paint additive.
It's simply mixed into to any type paint before you paint your interior or exterior walls and ceilings.
In hotter climates it is also used in Attic.
This procedure starts working immediately by slowing you heat loss or gain.
It will lower your thermostat in the winter and raise it in the summer by 3 to 5 degrees.
So this helps save the environment and you money.
While giving you a more comfortable home while saving you money on your energy cost.
Be cautious of Aluminum spray on's as they could be the future Lead paints and asbestos of tomorrow.
Please check www.heatshield-r20.com for more information.
This is a terrible article. No real research was done. It is totally unscientific. Unverified opinions are paraded as fact. If there really were no independent tests one might spend $50 on materials (insulating pant and a thermometer) and test whether or not insulating paint works. This article is like a debate about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin! Can you spell 'empirical'? I didn't think so.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisEven if you are incapable of simple scientific observation you could spend a few minutes with a search engine and find out that this is a fairly well known, commercially available technology.
American Architectural Review iCAG video w/Morley Safer
(7 mil dry coat R19 roof coating)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lpQ1zkC1Ow
Bob Vila
(10 mil R20 wall coating on a shipping container house)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRq4UJLqLDI
University of South Florida/Florida Energy Office
(side by side comparison of identical test structures)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYfDpNcLHWg
Maybe you could change the name to Computer Illiterate Unscientific American.
Does anyone know anything about <a href="http://insuladd.com">Insuladd Insulating Paints</a>
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