5 ms·

How much energy would be spent on the production of white paint? How much energy would be saved by painting the roofs white? Unless a detailed quantitative anal

by TriinT 17y ago

How much energy would be spent on the production of white paint? How much energy would be saved by painting the roofs white? Unless a detailed quantitative analysis is provided, this is pretty much nonsensical...

ars 17y ago
The article suggests up to 15%. Assume 10%, and a $1000 yearly A/C bill, that's a savings of $100 a year. Energy spent is pretty much exactly equal to the price of the paint. So how much does paint cost? How much to install, and how long does it last? All theoretical questions, since I don't think paint that can survive on a roof exists. I'm going to make some wild guesses: You need 10 gallons of paint at a cost of $40 per gallon. And it takes about 1 day to install, at a cost of 8 hour*40 $/hour. So total it would be about $720 to install. And I bet it would last 3 to 5 years. Lets be generous and say 5. So it costs $144 per year, but saves you $100. Not a good plan. It uses more energy than it saves. Of course my numbers are totally guesses. Especially the cost for paint that does not exist.
- TriinT 17y ago
  I like your back-of-the-envelope calculations... The problem with such seemingly unorthodox proposals is that they can be either brilliant or totally retarded. The devil is in the details. Unfortunately, neither the media nor the masses care a fig about details...
- yardie 17y ago
  They have paints that are good for 5-10 years. They are white and you'll find them on the bottom of your local swimming pool. It's exposed to the sun everyday with the weight of hundreds of gallons of water on top of it. The paint does exist, but depending on your location you might not be able to find it. I'm sure you can get it if your along the south coast. And it doesn't necessarily have to be paint. Tiles are also useful and they are good for 20 years or more. Almost all new houses I've seen built in Florida for the last 15 years have been using white tiles for the roof.
  - ars 17y ago
    Paint at the bottom of a pool has all the UV filtered out. I don't think it would survive full UV from the sun. Don't they use tiles at the top of the pool? If they do use paint at the top, I bet it has to be repainted every few years. You said 5-10 for in the water, I bet that out of it it's more like 3-5. And that's not anywhere near long enough for a roof. Of course, I don't actually know. But when I looked for UV resistant paint I didn't really find anything.

by TriinT 17y ago

ars 17y ago

The article suggests up to 15%. Assume 10%, and a $1000 yearly A/C bill, that's a savings of $100 a year. Energy spent is pretty much exactly equal to the price of the paint. So how much does paint cost? How much to install, and how long does it last? All theoretical questions, since I don't think paint that can survive on a roof exists. I'm going to make some wild guesses: You need 10 gallons of paint at a cost of $40 per gallon. And it takes about 1 day to install, at a cost of 8 hour*40 $/hour. So total it would be about $720 to install. And I bet it would last 3 to 5 years. Lets be generous and say 5. So it costs $144 per year, but saves you $100. Not a good plan. It uses more energy than it saves. Of course my numbers are totally guesses. Especially the cost for paint that does not exist.

TriinT 17y ago
I like your back-of-the-envelope calculations... The problem with such seemingly unorthodox proposals is that they can be either brilliant or totally retarded. The devil is in the details. Unfortunately, neither the media nor the masses care a fig about details...
yardie 17y ago
They have paints that are good for 5-10 years. They are white and you'll find them on the bottom of your local swimming pool. It's exposed to the sun everyday with the weight of hundreds of gallons of water on top of it. The paint does exist, but depending on your location you might not be able to find it. I'm sure you can get it if your along the south coast. And it doesn't necessarily have to be paint. Tiles are also useful and they are good for 20 years or more. Almost all new houses I've seen built in Florida for the last 15 years have been using white tiles for the roof.
- ars 17y ago
  Paint at the bottom of a pool has all the UV filtered out. I don't think it would survive full UV from the sun. Don't they use tiles at the top of the pool? If they do use paint at the top, I bet it has to be repainted every few years. You said 5-10 for in the water, I bet that out of it it's more like 3-5. And that's not anywhere near long enough for a roof. Of course, I don't actually know. But when I looked for UV resistant paint I didn't really find anything.