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Published On: Feb 04, 2004 04:24 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Feb 04, 2004 04:24 PM
Jeez! Yet another paint story?
Yup! This time your enamel will change colors with
the seasons as well as heat/cool your house...
Paint that cools your home in the heat of the
summer and warms it up in winter has been developed by researchers in China. Not
only will the paint reduce your heating bills, it will also change the colour of
your home to match the
season.
Developed by Yiping Ma and his colleagues at Tongji University in Shanghai, the coating absorbs heat from the Sun when the temperature drops below 20 °C, helping to warm the building. But when the temperature rises above 20 °C the coating automatically starts to reflect sunlight to keep the building cool.
The coating also changes colour with the seasons. "There are different seasons in nature, so that cool tones are preferred in summer and warm tones in winter," explains Ma. He thinks people will want blue colours when the weather is hot and reds in the depths of winter.
Developed by Yiping Ma and his colleagues at Tongji University in Shanghai, the coating absorbs heat from the Sun when the temperature drops below 20 °C, helping to warm the building. But when the temperature rises above 20 °C the coating automatically starts to reflect sunlight to keep the building cool.
The coating also changes colour with the seasons. "There are different seasons in nature, so that cool tones are preferred in summer and warm tones in winter," explains Ma. He thinks people will want blue colours when the weather is hot and reds in the depths of winter.
Pigment and
polymer
To develop pigments with the right properties
Ma looked at a number of thermochromic substances. Most of them changed colour
at too high a temperature to be useful for domestic paint, but a substance
called crystal violet lactone produces a variety of hues, from red to green to
blue, at close to room
temperature.
In order to prevent crystal violet lactone from reacting with chemicals in the paint, Ma encapsulated the pigment in a transparent polymer and then stirred it into a standard wall paint. The paint has a noticeable effect on the internal temperature of a typical house, says Ma.
"The coating can increase the temperature by about 4 °C in winter, and can decrease the temperature by about 8 °C in summer," explains Ma.
In order to prevent crystal violet lactone from reacting with chemicals in the paint, Ma encapsulated the pigment in a transparent polymer and then stirred it into a standard wall paint. The paint has a noticeable effect on the internal temperature of a typical house, says Ma.
"The coating can increase the temperature by about 4 °C in winter, and can decrease the temperature by about 8 °C in summer," explains Ma.
Black and
white
"I haven't come across anything that adapts
in this way," says Mike Wilson, director of the Low Energy Architecture Research
Unit at the University of North
London.
"Ideally though, the colours of the coating would change from black to white, as far as solar absorption is concerned." But, he adds, colour is important in designing buildings and people might not like buildings that turn from black to white.
"My final goal is to use this sort of coating in buildings to create a thermally comfortable environment without consuming any fossil fuel," says Ma.
In the meantime he is working to improve the durability of the coating. He currently estimates that buildings will have to be repainted every four years for the coating to remain effective.
"Ideally though, the colours of the coating would change from black to white, as far as solar absorption is concerned." But, he adds, colour is important in designing buildings and people might not like buildings that turn from black to white.
"My final goal is to use this sort of coating in buildings to create a thermally comfortable environment without consuming any fossil fuel," says Ma.
In the meantime he is working to improve the durability of the coating. He currently estimates that buildings will have to be repainted every four years for the coating to remain effective.
Posted: Wed - February 4, 2004 at 04:24 PM