Sydney researchers commercialising a product they say can cool indoor spaces and will cost little more than standard premium paints
Australian scientists have developed roof coatings that can passively cool surfaces up to 6C below ambient temperature, as well as extract water from the atmosphere, which they say could reduce indoor temperatures during extreme heat events.
Heatwaves are becoming more intense, more frequent and more deadly due to human-caused global heating.
One coating made from a porous film, which can be painted on to existing roofs, works by reflecting 96% of incoming solar radiation, rather than absorbing the sun’s energy. It also has a high thermal emittance, meaning it effectively dissipates heat to outer space when the sky is clear. Its properties are known as passive radiative cooling.
“The paint, even during the day when the sun is out, can be cooler than the air around it,” said the study’s lead author, Prof Chiara Neto of the University of Sydney.
