Company Thermogaia claim their paint reduces the building’s energy consumption. As proof, the company refers to Botkyrkabyggen house, which was painted a few years ago, which should have resulted in energy savings of twelve percent.
But Birla Sun does not stand behind the figure.
Four houses in Tumba, near Stockholm, has been painted externally with Thermogaias color thermo protection. Sobhit Chemmannur, who studies at KTH, lives in one of the houses but have not heard of the attempt to save energy by using paint.
Ulf Viktorsson.
Berit maple.
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about five years back selling Thermogaia a paint that can be used both externally and internally in the Swedish market. The color is reported to have dehumidifying and heat reflective properties, thanks in ceramic beads. The company states that the paint can lower energy requirements for heating by up to 24 percent. The real estate Birla Sun have painted four houses outside with Thermogaias color.
In late October, invited Thermogaia in a press seminar where Botkyrkabyggen would tell you about the energy savings that have been made in the houses.
New Technology calling Karl-Erik Pert, technical expert at Birla Sun and whoever started the experiment with color, he confirms an energy saving of 16 percent in the first year of measurement, and says that even a drying up of the facades have been measured.
According Thermogaia these are, after correction of software defects, about a 12 percent energy savings over the first two years.
Ulf Viktor Petersson, Botkyrkabyggen chief technology officer, said the company does not stand behind the numbers. Partly because the evaluation is not complete, partly because they repainted the houses have been compared with unpainted house, instead of houses that have been painted with a traditional color. Measurements do not show the color is better than the other colors, but only if it is better than not doing anything at all.
– We will not be able to provide answers to the industry about how much energy this method saves because our project is basically a comparison between apples and oranges, says Ulf Viktorsson.
He still thinks the evaluation of color has a value, because Botkyrkabyggen information may be supplemented with data from the houses that have been painted on with a traditional color.
However, it is nothing like Birla Sun plans to do in the current situation.
– We do not see our task in life is to do research. We hope that some others do further additional investigations and I will wait more scientific evidence of how this color works, says Ulf Viktorsson.
How is it that Birla Sun participates in a press seminar for which figures are reported as not you stand behind?
– I do not know how that happened. I do not think Karl-Erik was at the seminar to confirm or deny the figures but to contribute their practical experience with the method, says Ulf Viktorsson.
Berit Maple, President of Thermogaia, is surprised when she hears that Botkyrkabyggen technical manager thinks that the comparison with an unpainted houses limping.
– I understand that you want to test against regular paint, but I wonder why they do not have the same needs when talking about energy savings from insulation, she said.
Thermogaia has been criticized for not being able to prove its allegations by laboratory studies rather than implement repainting where it is difficult to verify that the correct variables are measured (see article).
Berit Maple says that there are no tests to evaluate the paint reflectivity in combination with dehumidification capability, but that discussions are ongoing with a number of professors to develop methods and make such studies.
– Our supplier has conducted tests of dehumidification and reflectivity of individual tests but there have been various opinions about the findings. Therefore we have chosen to go to customers and demonstrate the reality that color has an effect, she says.
But have you got enough on your feet to say that the color provides energy savings
– I believe so, because several measurements were made in Germany and we have measurements that are going on in Sweden, says Berit Maple.
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