Question:
Do ceramic coatings or products called liquid concrete or siding save energy? I've seen several ads promoting these coatings and paint additives, such as microspheres or ceramic beads that come from NASA technology, that claim to have insulative properties.
Answer:
The Florida Solar Energy Center has tested ceramic paints and found them to have no significant advantage over ordinary paint in terms of their ability to retard heat gains through exterior building surfaces. These products are generally composed of elastomeric coating products to which ceramic beads have been added. When tested side by side with the same elastomeric coating that doesn't have ceramic beads, both products have virtually the same heat-gain retarding performance. The product may have other worthy benefits like durability, but any energy-saving benefits it has can also be achieved without the ceramic beads. In Florida, choosing an efficient exterior coating means picking one with a light color to reflect heat.
For further information on how white and very light-colored surfaces can reduce heat gains to homes in Florida climates, see http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/bldg/pubs/coolroof/.
For measured properties of various surface materials, see http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/bldg/pubs/cr670/. |
