Australia’s Chief Scientist in 2016-2020, Professor Alan Finkel, described the most efficient green power generation in an industry seminar in July 2020: “There is no lack of appreciation from myself or my colleagues on the (low emissions) taskforce … that a gigawatt of power not needed because you’ve done an efficiency measure is the best form of energy generation that you could possibly ever hope to have.”
A very effective demonstration of this fact was measured in 2021 by the six times award winning LIPA Pharmaceuticals at Minto, New South Wales. The nature of their business demands efficient and reliable air conditioning. So they tested ‘cool-roof’ technology in a highly successful program to reduce power demands for the HVAC plant for 1,000 square metres of their facility.
Here they found, “Annual energy savings equate to approximately $9000 per year giving 63kWh per square metre saved annually in energy consumption.” This reduction concurs with the measurements presented to SkyCool by its clients across Australia where the national average for energy savings from Darwin to Melbourne on many wide-span buildings was found to be 62kW hours per square metre, per year.
Why does this work so well? As LIPA Pharmaceuticals found, the powerful combination of radiant cooling and solar thermal reflection on the sun-exposed roof removes the large solar heat load which would otherwise be heating the interior of the building.
Comparing the uncoated roof with the LIPA roof. Ambient temperature at 10am was 23°C. SkyCool-ed LIPA roof on the right is 6.6°C, uncoated roof on the left 34.1°C.
The thermal images of the roof top were taken with a FLIR thermal camera at around 10am as the coating works progressed. The interior of the warehouse experienced 8°C of cooling just under the roof and 5°C cooling at the floor level.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in their The Future of Cooling report that global energy demand for air conditioning is expected to triple by 2050. That is already placing extraordinary demand on Australia’s electricity supply. We’re seeing electricity demand and prices skyrocket as alternative generation is being brought on stream; and as our coal-fired generators are ageing.
The Low Carbon Living (LCL) report of 2018, RP1037, in association with the Federal Department of Industry, made the pivotal observations: “Cool roof technology is known to reduce the cooling energy consumption of conditioned buildings during hot periods, and widespread implementation of such roofs in a neighbourhood or precinct can mitigate the urban heat island effect,” and, “Rooftop heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment energy consumption would be reduced by such an effect, the efficiency of rooftop photovoltaic panels would be improved.”
Those reports, along with measured and verified results from many SkyCool users, have identified the important benefits available from the simple application of the no-maintenance, long-life, cool-roof coating:
- Significant HVAC energy savings, particularly at peak times, resulting in energy savings ranging from 25 to 50 per cent.
- Greatly reduced stress on the mechanical plant, resulting in lower maintenance and longer life.
- Contributing to the cooling of the suburban / industrial environment, thereby reducing the urban heat island effect which stresses our cities throughout the warmer months.
For further data, please see www.skycool.net.au or contact us on +61 2 9477 4095
