Characterization of the Effects of Insulating Wall Paint on Space Conditioning in a Room

David Buckmaster,Alexis Abramson

doi:10.18186/jte.03430

Abstract

Manufacturers of “insulating paints” continue to enter the marketplace with claims of their products’ exceptional potential toreduce building energy consumption. To help dispel this myth,this paper presents the simple theoretical analysis disproving thisclaim, backed by a more in-depth computational fluid dynamics(CFD) analysis testing the performance of such products. TheCFD analysis is conducted in a simulation of a room as a function of various parameters. The benefits of insulating paint areshown to be minimal; even under highly favorable conditions,energy consumption is reduced by less than 1%

Highlights

Energy use in residential and commercial buildings accounts for up to 40% of primary energy consumption depending on climate region, and of that fraction, 40-60% is used on space conditioning [1]
Despite a decrease over time in required energy per unit-area for space conditioning, there has not been a corresponding reduction in overall building energy consumption [1, 2], and for various reasons, building retrofits frequently proceed along sub-optimal paths both with regard to lifetime cost and energy use [3]
Despite lacking appropriate peer review and relevant endorsements from standard-setting agencies, a slew of such products exist, and most present evidence meant to validate their performance claims. It is the goal of this paper to analyze potential energy savings from so-called insulating paints both theoretically and computationally in order to provide an independent benchmark of their potential effects

Summary

Introduction

Energy use in residential and commercial buildings accounts for up to 40% of primary energy consumption depending on climate region, and of that fraction, 40-60% is used on space conditioning [1]. Missing from the fixed surface-temperature assumption of Eqn (1) is the possibility for an insulating paint product to perform differently under heating or cooling scenarios due to secondary effects of temperature distribution, velocity patterns, etc.

Results

Conclusion