Recovery Act - Bio-Based Thermochromic Intelligent Roof Coating

Cool roofs have been used on commercial, industrial, and residential buildings to reduce their interior temperature and energy use. However, cool roofs have a winter time heating penalty because they reflect solar heat that would help warm the building, thereby increasing the heating load. To maximize the energy savings by reducing both heating and cooling loads, an intelligent roof coating that can tune the reflectance and transmittance of solar light based on the environmental temperature will be developed. This proposed technology concerns the development and commercialization of a waste cooking oil based thermochromic intelligent roof coating that can autonomously respond to temperature changes by adjusting the light transmission. In Phase I, this bio-based coating was successfully prepared, coated asphalt shingles were fully evaluated, the optimal operating conditions were determined, and an economic analysis was conducted. The technical feasibility of this technology has been successfully established. The overall objectives of Phase II are to bring this proven and viable technology from a laboratory scale to a pilot scale, produce coated shingles for field tests and for evaluations at other companies, and demonstrate its commercial viability. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: The success of this project will bring an energy efficient, cost effective, environmentally friendly technology to the roof market that will bring significant energy and cost savings to the end-users, protect the environment and improve human health, and reduce the use of petroleum based fuel. This bio-based roof coating technology is innovative and practical. Compared to conventional cool roofs, this coating not only reflects solar light when the temperature is high, but also it transmits solar light when the temperature is low, thereby reducing both the heating and cooling loads of the buildings. The use of a renewable and agriculture based coating product will also eliminate the odor and volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions associated with traditional roof coating products and generate more economic opportunity for the agricultural sector.