The painting industry now offers radiant barrier paints that reflect most of the sun's heat away from painted structures, such as residences, warehouses, commercial and industrial buildings. These special paint coatings are also known as heat-shielding or thermal barrier paints.
Some of these special heat shielding paints contain tiny evacuated ceramic micro spheres. "Evacuated" means that the little ceramic spheres, or particles, have a vacuum at their core. Since heat can't travel through a vacuum, these radiant barrier paints offer a much smaller "footprint," or path, for the sun's heat to penetrate the painted structure or building.
These energy efficient paints can be used on exterior or interior walls, attics, and roofs; they can be applied with standard painting tools such as brush, roller, and spray. When used together with sealants, such as foam types and caulks, they help reduce energy costs. Houses and other structures painted with these radiant barrier paint formulas cost less to cool during summer, and less to heat during winter.
The negligible cost of painting with these thermal barrier paints will provide energy savings year after year. If you live in the United States, you can apply for a tax credit for using these energy-saving paints. You might check with your local government agencies to see if they provide tax and other incentives.
Radiant barrier paints should be a prime consideration the next time you paint your house. Not only will you save money and have an aesthetically pleasant paint finish, but you will be doing your part to combat global warming by consuming less energy.
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Daniel Aloy is a San Gabriel Valley House Painter with 30 years of experience in the residential and commercial painting trade. Visit Daniel's website to read more painting articles and tips, and to learn about radiant barrier paints.
