Could This New Ultra-Reflective Paint Take the Place of Air Conditioning?

Meta Description: Purdue University researchers have invented a new, super-reflective white paint that could revolutionize how buildings keep themselves cool.

Researchers at Purdue University in Indiana have discovered a way to manufacture a new, super-reflective white paint that can help buildings keep cool without air conditioning. The innovation has the potential to be revolutionary in terms of reducing the carbon footprint associated with traditional air conditioning. 

The paint, which holds the Guinness World Record for "the whitest paint ever," could prove to be an invaluable weapon in the fight against climate change.

Purdue mechanical engineering professor Xiulin Ruan, who contributed heavily to the project, believes the paint can reduce roof temperatures by as much as 8 degrees Fahrenheit when applied to the entire surface. That could significantly lower the interior temperature in any building where the paint covers the roof, and there may be additional benefits to painting entire buildings with it.

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Ruan has worked on this innovation since 2014 and notes that most modern commercial paints only reflect between 80% and 90% of sunlight and do nothing to cool building surfaces. He altered the chemical composition of his paint by switching out various traditional paint ingredients and replacing them with his formula. The reformulated paint absorbs far less heat than traditional paints and can be produced cost-effectively.

Why This New Paint Could Be So Important

The Earth has broken its hottest average temperature record for several consecutive years, and as climate change makes its effects felt with greater intensity, alternative methods of cooling will become an absolute necessity. Although traditional air conditioners or HVAC systems can cool building interiors, the benefit is a double-edged sword because they work by extracting warm air from buildings and blowing it back into the atmosphere.

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That means that while air conditioners are cooling building interiors in the world's cities, they simultaneously exacerbate the heat that makes air conditioning necessary in the first place. This is in addition to requiring so much electricity that major electrical grids have buckled or collapsed under the strain during heat waves. As the globe warms, traditional air conditioning is becoming a less feasible solution to keeping humans comfortable.

Basic human comfort is not the only pressing reason for developing more sustainable, climate-friendly methods of cooling building interiors. Global commerce, healthcare and communications networks are all increasingly reliant on technology like data clouds and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered supercomputers. Computers, like humans, generate heat and do not function well in hot environments. If the world cannot keep its computers, servers and data centers cool, the digital infrastructure they underpin could come crashing down.

 When Does The New Paint Hit The Market?

"We can save the energy costs anywhere from 10% to 40% depending on the climate zone," Ruan said. 

All that begs the question of when this new paint will become commercially available. Purdue University representatives are in discussions with an unnamed manufacturer and hope the new paint will be on the shelves of your favorite hardware store within the next 12 months. 

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