tmoyin Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Hello, I was hoping if anyone could help me with some information. Lately I have been reading about insulation additive for paints. I have not tried it however thinking about it. I was wondering if any one would give me some feedback about the product. does it really work? does it pose any health hazards? has anyone tried it? I see that there are couple of brands out there? which ones would you recommend? I would really appreciate your feedback. thanks. T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottpat Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Hello, I was hoping if anyone could help me with some information. Lately I have been reading about insultaiton additive for paints. I have not tried it however thinking about it. I was wondering if any one would give me some feedback about the product. does it really work? does it pose any health hazards? has anyone tried it? I see that there are couple of brands out there? which ones would you recommend? I would really appreciate you feedback. thanks. T I have not heard of it yet. Logic would tell me that you're not going to get much "R" value out of anything that can be added to liquid much less paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resqman Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 A few years back there was a paint that claimed to act as a reflective barrier, similar to the way a space blanket it works. Instead of actually providing any insulative features, it reportedly reflected heat. Some of the marketing hype may make it sounds like it is has insulative qualities. Most believe at this point, that after a short while, the reflective qualities dimish due to dust and it becomes ineffective as a reflector. It still performs the job of paint. Insulation works by haveing small pockets of air. Air is considered the best form of insulation. Most insulation is bulky to create lots of air pockets. Paint tends to be very thin with virtually no air space or air pockets. I guess if the additive adds diminsion to the paint in the form of say small beads of styofoam, then it may have an insulative quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Hello, I was hoping if anyone could help me with some information. Lately I have been reading about insultaiton additive for paints. I have not tried it however thinking about it. I was wondering if any one would give me some feedback about the product. does it really work? does it pose any health hazards? has anyone tried it? I see that there are couple of brands out there? which ones would you recommend? I would really appreciate you feedback. thanks. T It's a scam. - Jim Katen, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Hi, No, it's not a scam; what he's thinking of is the paint with the microscopic ceramic beads mixed into the formulation. The ceramic tends to slow conductivity of heat to cold. The idea was that if you painted the underside of a roof with the stuff that it would slow solar gain during the day and slow heatloss back through the roof plane during the night. That's all it does; it doesn't "insulate" anything, it just makes it easier for the existing insulation in a house to do its job. There are a number of metal roofing companies that began using it on the roofing panels that they produce and it basically does what folks say it will do. However, again, it doesn't "insulate" and anyone selling it that claims that it does is just stealing your money. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inspector57 Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 Radiant barrier paint works. Radiant barriers are NOT insulation, they only block radiant heat. Think of it like putting your house under a big shade tree in the summer. There are scams selling unproven formulas as additives to regular paint. Stick to a known brand like Dupont, Sherwin-Williams. Don't buy anything without independent documentation from someplace other than the sellers website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 Hi, No, it's not a scam; what he's thinking of is the paint with the microscopic ceramic beads mixed into the formulation. The ceramic tends to slow conductivity of heat to cold. The idea was that if you painted the underside of a roof with the stuff that it would slow solar gain during the day and slow heatloss back through the roof plane during the night. That's all it does; it doesn't "insulate" anything, it just makes it easier for the existing insulation in a house to do its job. I'm having a tough time understanding your logic. If the product can "slow conductivity of heat to cold" isn't that the very definition of "insulate"? We're talking about a paint film that's a few mils thick. Exactly how much slowing can it do? There are a number of metal roofing companies that began using it on the roofing panels that they produce and it basically does what folks say it will do. However, again, it doesn't "insulate" and anyone selling it that claims that it does is just stealing your money. The stuff that I've heard about on the back of metal roofing panels is a radiant barrier. It reflects heat back down into the house. Is this something different? - Jim Katen, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 Radiant barrier paint works. Radiant barriers are NOT insulation, they only block radiant heat. Think of it like putting your house under a big shade tree in the summer. There are scams selling unproven formulas as additives to regular paint. Stick to a known brand like Dupont, Sherwin-Williams. Don't buy anything without independent documentation from someplace other than the sellers website. Please explain how it works. If you paint a radiant barrier on the underside of a roof, it will reflect radiant heat that approaches it from the underside. But, since it's painted on the underside of the roof, there is no radiant heat approaching it from the top. The sunlight hits the roof and warms it. Anything attached to the bottom of the roof will be warmed by conduction, not radiation. If you want to block radiation in the attic, you have to separate the barrier from the underside of the roof. Then the warm roof will radiate heat and the heat will be reflected by the barrier. So how does this stuff act like a shade tree? - Jim Katen, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 Hi, My apologies; I need to retract my statement. I remembered reading an article done by the Florida Solar Research Center years ago that had essentially said that paint with these ceramic beads does retard heat flow. I've just researched that site and found a Q & A that says that they don't work any better than regular paints so I must have remembered it wrong. Sorry. OT - OF!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_opwin Posted February 13, 2010 Report Share Posted February 13, 2010 Hi tmoyin i haven't come across it yet but i am also looking forward for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamNorwich Posted April 22, 2010 Report Share Posted April 22, 2010 Unless you are going to put about a five inch think layer of paint on the house, I doubt it is worth the extra money. Heck the color you select may have more of an effect on the heating and cooling of your house than any additive. I'd proceed with caution and do much more research. Sam N Indianapolis Real Estate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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