ACA Sustainability Report 2022 - Report - Page 55
Improving the Community and the Climate
MEMBER STORY
Tex-Cote’s COOLWALL® Coatings Reduce Both Energy
Costs and the Urban Heat Island Effect
What if you knew you could save
anywhere from 4% to 27% in energy
costs savings all with just an
application of a wall coating? For
decades, cool roofs have been used
by owners and specifiers to reduce
sunlight absorption and reduce energy
costs. They can be made of highly
reflective paint, a sheet covering,
or highly reflective tiles or shingles.
Until 2004, cool roofs were the
primary solution to reduce sunlight
absorption. Seeing a need to reduce
heat uptake in walls, Tex-Cote LLC, a
leading manufacturer of specialized
exterior wall coatings, developed the
COOLWALL® coatings system.
Tex-Cote’s original COOLWALL®
patent was issued in 2004, bringing
the first ever COOLWALL® coatings
system to market. Through solarreflective “cool walls,” the system
reduces the absorption of sunlight
by the building envelope and allows
for darker and deeper tone colors to
reflect heat buildup, much like white
and light colors.
Infrared reflective technology is not
unique to cool roofs or cool walls.
It is used by the military as the key
innovation to reduce heat absorption
on planes, tanks, and other military
vehicles. Tex-Cote’s proprietary
COOLWALL® product also incorporates
Kynar® into the formulation to provide
long-lasting coating durability and
minimize the reduction in long-term
reflectance values from biological
growth and dirt pickup.
This coating system is especially
helpful in combatting the urban heat
island effect in U.S. cities, which have
higher temperatures than outlying
areas. Research by scientists at
the U.S. Department of Energy’s
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
demonstrates the effectiveness
of “cool walls” in reducing energy
consumption and increasing cost
savings. They conducted a study
that modeled several different types
and ages of homes, retail stores, and
office buildings across California and
the country and found that sunlightreflecting walls can often save as
much, or some cases more energy
than sunlight-reflecting roofs.
This research examined structures
throughout the county and concluded
that in warm U.S. cities from Miami,
Florida, to Albuquerque, New Mexico,
“cool walls” could cut annual heating,
ventilation, and air conditioning
(HVAC) energy costs by as much as
11% for stand-alone retail stores, 8.3%
for single-family homes and 4.6% for
53
medium-sized office buildings. The
study also found that single-family
homes across all California climates,
a potential energy cost savings of 4%
to 27%.
The benefits of reflective wall
coatings are now being recognized
and endorsed by several building
codes and environmentally focused
rating systems. In addition to The U.S.
Green Building Council’s new LEED
pilot credit SSPC154, Ashre 90.12019, Cal Green, International Energy
Conservation Code, International
Green Construction Code, and Green
Globes all have references, guidance,
or protocols related to the use of
reflective, or cool walls.
Since 2004 the COOLWALL® coatings
system has been both laboratory and
time tested across the country for
both its energy savings and long-term
impact in reducing the urban heat
island effect. Learn more about the
COOLWALL® coatings system by
visiting www.texcote.com.
TEX-COTE® and COOLWALL® are registered
trademarks of Tex-Cote LLC. Kynar® is a
registered trademark
of Arkema, Inc.