Cooling glass' could fight climate change by reflecting solar radiation back into space

[Admin]

To combat increasing global temperatures, scientists have developed a new cooling glass paint which effectively uses space as a heat sink.

Cooling glass' could fight climate change by reflecting solar radiation back into space : Read more

 

[Pogo]

If this stuff is durable as a road surface, we could just paint this stuff on blacktop and concrete surfaces.

 

[Unclear Engineer]

That would probably create an extremely dazzling effect on people trying to navigate the roads and even sidewalks. Think "snow blindness" and all of the gear and techniques people have had to develop to travel in sunny and snowy locales.

But, putting it on roofs would probably be a good idea. And, as I posted elsewhere, putting roofs over big parking areas with solar cells on them could provide cooler parking areas, the ability to charge parked cars during office time or shopping visits, and left-over energy to power the offices and shopping malls, at least during the days (and when there isn't much snow on the solar panels). Unfortunately, solar panels are designed to not reflect light, so about 75-to-80% of the solar energy hitting them would be released as heat. But the rest of the roof areas could be coated in this paint.

 

[Helio]

Roads require frictional functions that I doubt any glass-like product would have. It also must not be a road hazard when it breaks.

Reflective roofs, however, have always been a good idea, IMO.

Also, we’re not in a “crisis” stage, or has the IPCC capitulated?

 

[George²]

The quotation marks in the title are very appropriate. Another stupidity that will drain the budget, if adopted, with much more (harmful) effect than benefits it could bring.

 

[MIT BOY]

While the glass painted on roofs is a good idea, I don't think it will be much help in small towns and may be a waste of money. It is a good idea for big cities, however.

 

[Unclear Engineer]

Depending on how inexpensive and easy to apply it can be made, it might be attractive at an individual homeowner level. First, it should substantially reduce heating costs in the summer. And, if it is really as durable as the article indicates, it would probably last twice as long as asphalt shingles. So, especially in areas where cooling is the dominant energy use, this could make a difference in energy demand, and thus in greenhouse gas emissions.

 

[Pogo]

I wonder if this would have an adverse effect on pilots, highly reflective surfaces blinding those in the air.

 

[Unclear Engineer]

I don't think that is likely. Pilots already have the sun shining down on them, which is sometimes blocked by the opaque roof over commercial cockpits, but not by the clear canopies of fighter aircraft. And what light does get reflected from the ground would usually be blocked by the aircraft's body. Maybe on landing approach some highly reflective surfaces would be more of a problem than the usual situation, but I would expect that could be dealt with using the same policies as for building height restrictions, etc. around airports.

 

[George²]

Birds, insects, including bees, all life that flies will be affected. Even today, many bees are lost due to disorientation.

 

[DomainRider]

Reflective white paint on roofs has been a big success in India, dropping indoor temperatures by up to 5℃. For those that can't afford A/C, this is a significant benefit.

 

[bolide]

A crucial word was left out of the headline. This product is a paint, not a new type of glass.

This would no doubt be a great improvement over a dark roof, but I wonder how much of a difference it would make compared to ordinary white paint.

 

[Questioner]

My thought is in temperate zones it might be good to have it on one side of louvers,
that way it could reflect EM energy when you didn't want it and then one could flip/rotate it for passive EM energy gain when it is cold.

Maybe they could come up with an inverse characteristic (EM energy absorber) paint to coat on the reverse side of the louvers.

It's cheap & made from relatively common matterials,
that's a huge selling point.

 

[DomainRider]

A crucial word was left out of the headline. This product is a paint, not a new type of glass.

This would no doubt be a great improvement over a dark roof, but I wonder how much of a difference it would make compared to ordinary white paint.

I would expect it to be better than ordinary white paint - but there are already ultra-white paints that reflect over 95% of incoming sunlight. This new paint needs to be at least as good and/or cheaper to be worth marketing.

 

[Unclear Engineer]

Reading through the materials on the outside of the paywall, it seems as though the difference with this material is that it contains a phosphor that reradiates absorbed heat in the infrared part of the spectrum in a wavelength where the atmosphere has a "window" to not absorb it as it goes out into space. So, in that sense, it is not only a reflector. At least, that is what it seems like from what I could read.

If that is the actual case, then this material would be different from purely reflective paint.

But it is not clear to me that it would really be that much more effective than, say titanium oxide white paint.

No matter what this material turns out to be, painting a lot of the roofs in a city white does not seem like a bad idea.

 

[George²]

Reading through the materials on the outside of the paywall, it seems as though the difference with this material is that it contains a phosphor

Mmm, has many offers for paints containing phosphorus. Check this. It's nothing new here.
Example:

 

[DomainRider]

Mmm, has many offers for paints containing phosphorus. Check this. It's nothing new here.

Phosphors are luminescent materials, they don't necessarily contain phosphorus or its compounds; for example, the best-known phosphor is zinc sulphide. Zinc phosphate isn't a phosphor, it's used for corrosion resistance or in dental cement. The metal primer example you gave is intended to protect metal and be painted over by some other paint.

 

[George²]

A sulfide is a chemical compound of an element, most often a metal, with sulfur. Hence the name.
It is quite clear that I am not referring to luminophores in general. It is true that they have many options that do not contain phosphorus.

 

[Unclear Engineer]

George, you missed the point, entirely.

The point is that the paint that is the subject of this article has a substance that reradiates in a specific range of frequencies in the infrared spectrum that will most effectively pass through the Earth's atmosphere and escape into space, rather than be captured in the atmosphere and heat that.

I am not convinced that this new paint is going to be that much more effective than regular white reflective paint that doesn't have that special property. But, this article is about what makes that paint different.

 

[George²]

George, you missed the point, entirely.

The point is that the paint that is the subject of this article has a substance that reradiates in a specific range of frequencies in the infrared spectrum that will most effectively pass through the Earth's atmosphere and escape into space, rather than be captured in the atmosphere and heat that.

I am not convinced that this new paint is going to be that much more effective than regular white reflective paint that doesn't have that special property. But, this article is about what makes that paint different.

Despite my efforts to find out if it has different chemistry and properties to existing and marketed paints. I'm afraid I haven't been able to find such differences that don't repeat existing variants. Accordingly, upon sufficient scrutiny, patent for this mix should be denied.

 

[Helio]

FWIW, and per a few prior posts, IIRC, San Antonio has approved $30M to supply solar panels to also serve as shade for parking garages and rooftops, both for municipal facilities. It will raise electric bills about 3% (comm. and residential), plus a bump to commercial costs as well, apparently. They expect to lose money on it for the first 15 years, but "gravy" thereafter.

The report is that this is the 2nd largest contract in the US for such a solar project.

 

[bolide]

My thought is in temperate zones it might be good to have it on one side of louvers,
that way it could reflect EM energy when you didn't want it and then one could flip/rotate it for passive EM energy gain when it is cold.

Maybe they could come up with an inverse characteristic (EM energy absorber) paint to coat on the reverse side of the louvers.

It's cheap & made from relatively common matterials,
that's a huge selling point.

"

Maybe they could come up with an inverse characteristic (EM energy absorber) paint ... "

That would be called "black paint."

 

[bolide]

George, you missed the point, entirely.

The point is that the paint that is the subject of this article has a substance that reradiates in a specific range of frequencies in the infrared spectrum that will most effectively pass through the Earth's atmosphere and escape into space, rather than be captured in the atmosphere and heat that.

I am not convinced that this new paint is going to be that much more effective than regular white reflective paint that doesn't have that special property. But, this article is about what makes that paint different.

There's the question of how the phosphor reradiates, and also what it reradiates. If what it absorbs (and reradiates) is infrared that is not reflected or reradiated by regular white reflective paint, then it could keep a roof significantly cooler, and that would be its novel quality and selling point.

 

[bolide]

Despite my efforts to find out if it has different chemistry and properties to existing and marketed paints. I'm afraid I haven't been able to find such differences that don't repeat existing variants. Accordingly, upon sufficient scrutiny, patent for this mix should be denied.

Are there "existing variants" that reradiate in the infrared at that same wavelength?

 

[George²]

Are there "existing variants" that reradiate in the infrared at that same wavelength?

Yes research from 2021. Otherwise, certainly all paints have some percentage of efficiency in reflecting the infrared range.