Solar heat reflective paint & coatings using 3M™ Glass Bubbles

1- Introduction

In most countries, energy use in the building sector represents about one third of the total
energy consumption.
In developing countries the residential building sector accounts for more than half of the
electricity consumption. The economic growth is expected to boost residential demand for
electricity, such as electric lighting, air conditioning and other appliances.
Energy consumption for residential cooling shows an increasing trend worldwide and is of
primary concern for countries that are characterized by hot climatic conditions.
The extensive use of air-conditioning is an economic concern. Increasing electricity demand
for cooling increases peak electricity loads which leads to burn more fossil, increasing energy
costs and pollution levels. In addition, problems with indoor air quality related to the use of
air-conditioners are of serious concern.

To decrease the demand for air-conditioning use, heat reflective coatings have gained a lot
of interest during the past few years. Heat reflective coatings are characterized by high solar
reflectance (SR) and high emittance values in the thermal infrared region.
Those coatings can be roof coating and wall façade paint.

2- How it works

Understanding how heat reflective coatings work requires knowing how solar energy heats
walls and roofs and how the properties of these materials can contribute to warming. This
section explains solar energy, the properties of solar reflectance and thermal emittance, and
the combined effect of these two properties working together.

2-1 Solar Energy

The spectral energy distribution of solar radiation at sea level is shown below:
 1.6
UV Visible N-IR
5% 46% 49%

1.4
Solar Irradiance (W/m².nm)

1.2

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 2500

Wavelength (nm)

This energy is usually divided into three bands:

 The ultraviolet band, between 200 and 400 nm, represents 5% of the sunlight energy,
including the type of rays responsible for sunburn.
 The visible band, between 400 and 700 nm, represents 46% of the sunlight energy, in
colors ranging from violet to red.
 The near-infrared band, between 700 and 2500 nm, represents 49% of the sunlight
energy, felt as heat.

The total solar irradiance at normal incidence is about1.3 kW/m².

2-2 Solar Reflectance

Solar reflectance, or albedo, is the percentage of solar energy reflected by a surface.

Researchers have developed methods to determine solar reflectance by measuring how well
a material reflects energy at each solar energy wavelength, then calculating the weighted
average of these values to obtain the Total Solar Reflectance (TSR). Traditional paint and
coatings have low solar reflectance of 5 to 15 percent, which means they absorb 85 to 95
percent of the energy reaching them instead of reflecting the energy back out to the
atmosphere. The coolest paint and coatings have a high solar reflectance of more than 80
percent, absorbing and transferring to the building 20 percent or less of the energy that
reaches them. These materials reflect radiation across the entire solar spectrum, especially
in the visible and infrared (heat) wavelengths.

2-3 Thermal Emittance

Any surface exposed to radiant energy will get hotter until it reaches thermal equilibrium
(i.e., it gives off as much heat as it receives). A material’s thermal emittance determines how
much heat it will radiate per unit area at a given temperature, that is, how readily a surface
gives up heat. When exposed to sunlight, a surface with high emittance will reach thermal
equilibrium at a lower temperature than a surface with low emittance, because the high-
emittance surface gives off its heat more readily.

2-4 Solar Reflectance Index (SRI)

Solar Reflectance Index is the combined value of Reflectance and Emittance. SRI is defined so
that a standard black surface is zero (reflectance = 5, emittance = 90) and a standard white is
100 (reflectance 80, emittance = 90). Because the way SRI is defined, very cool materials can
have SRI values exceeding 100.

3- Cool pigments

Reflectance of solar light is achieved by scattering visible and infrared radiations.

The scattering of radiations by a pigment is a function of the difference between the
refractive indices of the pigment and the resin in which it is dispersed. The greater
difference, the better is the reflectance.
Common organic resins have refractive indices between 1.45 and 1.60.
The refractive indices of commercial pigments vary between 1.4 and 2.8.
Rutile titanium dioxide TiO2 is the most effective white pigment to scatter visible light due to
its high refractive index (2.8) and its particle size being half the average wavelengths of the
visible band.

4- 3M™ Glass Bubbles

3M™ Glass Bubbles are high-strength, low-density additives made from a water resistant and
chemically-stable soda-lime-borosilicate glass. They are used in a variety of applications,
including automotive, marine, oil and gas and construction.
Because of their hollow shape, 3M Glass Bubbles are used in the paint industry for many
years to provide thermal insulation. Those paints are sold as anti-condensation paint for high
humidity rooms such as kitchen and bathroom. Resistance to condensation comes from the
greater surface temperature of the paint compared with ordinary paint.

Due to their hollow structure, 3M Glass Bubbles have a low refractive index, close to 1.0,
much lower than the refractive index of common resins, hence to expect visible and near-
infrared scattering efficiency:
 Target Crush Strength True Calculated
Grade Composition 90% Survivals Density Particle Size (microns, by volume) Refractive
(bar) (g/cm 3) Index
Effective Top
10% 50% 90%
Size(95%)
K1 17 0.125 30 65 110 120 1.026
K15 21 0.15 30 60 105 115 1.032
S22 28 0.22 20 35 60 75 1.046
K20 34 0.20 30 65 110 120 1.042
XLD3000 210 0.23 20 30 45 50 1.048
K25 Soda-lime 52 0.25 25 55 95 105 1.053
S32LD Borosilicate 103 0.29 20 40 75 80 1.061
XLD6000 Glass 420 0.30 12 17 25 30 1.063
S32 140 0.32 20 40 75 80 1.067
K37 210 0.37 20 40 80 85 1.078
S38 280 0.38 15 40 75 85 1.080
S38HS 385 0.38 15 40 75 85 1.080
K46 420 0.46 15 40 70 80 1.097
S60 690 0.60 15 30 55 65 1.126
S60HS 1240 0.60 11 30 50 60 1.126
iM30K 1930 0.60 10 17 28 30 1.126

5- Evaluation of 3M™ Glass Bubbles in solar paint and coatings

To quantify the effect of 3M Glass Bubbles on reflectance of solar light, a design of

experiments is conducted:
3 grades of 3M Glass Bubbles are selected according to their density and particle size
distribution, K20, S22 and XLD6000.
For comparison purpose, a standard grade of calcium carbonate is selected.
For additional comparison, a widely promoted grade of ceramic microspheres in solar paint,
also called “cenospheres” is included in the study.

Particle size distribution of each filler is compared:

Particle Size Distribution

Ceramic d 50 = 90µm
20
K20 d 50 = 60µm
Volume (%)

15
S22 d 50 = 30µm

10 XLD6000 d 50 = 17 µm

0
1 10 100 500
Particle Size (µm)

5 paints are prepared having the same Pigment Volume Concentration of 60%. Titanium
dioxide is set at 15%, the remaining 45% are calcium carbonate or 3M Glass Bubbles grade
K20 or S22 or XLD6000 or ceramic microspheres according to the following starting
formulations:
With calcium carbonate
raw material Density(g/cc) Weight W% Volume V% % Vol Dry
Water 1.00 47.21 14.37 47.21 23.61 0.00
Wetting agent 1.16 0.80 0.24 0.69 0.35 0.21
TiO2 4.10 61.50 18.71 15.00 7.50 15.00
CaCO3 2.70 121.50 36.97 45.00 22.50 45.00
Resin 1.06 94.44 28.74 89.09 44.55 39.04
Glass Bubbles 0.22 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Thickener 1.06 2.88 0.88 2.71 1.36 0.70
Anti-foam 1.00 0.29 0.09 0.29 0.15 0.05
Totals 1.64 328.62 100.00 200.00 100.00 100.00

With 3M Glass Bubbles

raw material Density(g/cc) Weight W% Volume V% % Vol Dry
Water 1.00 47.21 21.75 47.21 23.61 0.00
Wetting agent 1.16 0.80 0.37 0.69 0.35 0.21
TiO2 4.10 61.50 28.34 15.00 7.50 15.00
CaCO3 2.70 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Resin 1.06 94.44 43.52 89.09 44.55 39.04
Glass Bubbles 0.22 9.90 4.56 45.00 22.50 45.00
Thickener 1.06 2.88 1.33 2.71 1.36 0.70
Anti-foam 1.00 0.29 0.14 0.29 0.15 0.05
Totals 1.09 217.02 100.00 200.00 100.00 100.00

With Ceramic microspheres

raw material Density(g/cc) Weight W% Volume V% % Vol Dry
Water 1.00 47.21 19.60 47.21 23.61 0.00
Wetting agent 1.16 0.80 0.33 0.69 0.35 0.21
TiO2 4.10 61.50 25.53 15.00 7.50 15.00
CaCO3 2.70 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Resin 1.06 94.44 39.21 89.09 44.55 39.04
Ceramic Bubbles 0.75 33.75 14.01 45.00 22.50 45.00
Thickener 1.06 2.88 1.19 2.71 1.36 0.70
Anti-foam 1.00 0.29 0.12 0.29 0.15 0.05
Totals 1.20 240.87 100.00 200.00 100.00 100.00

5-1 Solar Reflectance Measurement

Total solar reflectance of coating is measured using a UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer and an

integrated sphere, according to ASTM E903-96.

Testing equipment:
Spectrophotometer CARY 500 + Labsphere Integrating Sphere
Test results:

Solar Reflectance according to size of particles

100

90

80
% Reflectance

70

60

50

40
250 750 1250 1750 2250
Wavelength (nm)

CaCO3 400µ S22 400µ XLD 400µ K20 400µ Ceramic 400µ

The solar reflectance is calculated using the ASTM method E903-96 and reference table for
solar irradiance from ASTM G173-03:
 Total Solar Reflectance
90.00

89.00

88.00

87.00

86.00
% Reflectance

85.00

84.00

83.00

82.00

81.00

80.00
CaCO3 S22 XLD6000 K20 Ceramic

Sample TSR UV Visible IR

CaCO3 83.50 12.56 85.62 88.33
S22 88.20 12.35 93.92 90.08
XLD6000 88.67 12.21 94.50 90.52
K20 87.32 12.33 93.40 88.78
Ceramic 83.35 12.09 89.46 84.43

5-2 Thermal Emittance Measurement

Thermal emittance is measured according to NF EN 12898 standard using an ABB BOMEM

MB-154S FTIR spectrometer and a gold coated integrated sphere available from
SphereOptics:
 Thermal Emittance
100

90

80

70

60
% Emissivity

50
CaCO3 S22 K20 XLD6000 Ceramic

40

30

20

10

0
2.500 4.500 6.500 8.500 10.500 12.500 14.500

Wavelength (microns)

5-3 Overall test results:

Sample Thermal Emittance Total Solar Reflectance Solar Reflectance Index

CaCO3 90.8 83.5 105
S22 89.0 88.2 112
XLD6000 89.4 88.7 112
K20 89.3 87.3 110
Ceramic 90.0 83.4 105

5-4 Infrared lamp test:

An additional in-house test was developed to evaluate the effect of solar heat reflective
paint and coatings on inside temperature of buildings:
 IR lamp

Painted aluminum panel

Thermocouple
Data logger

Aluminum painted panels are exposed to a Philips BR125 150W IR lamp light. Distance
between bulb and painted panel is 10 centimeters. A thermocouple is attached to the back
side of the aluminum panel. A Sefram log 1522 data logger is used to record temperature
versus time.
The test is conducted for 1 hour. The steady state is reached within a time period of 20
minutes:
 IR Lamp test
100.0

90.0

80.0

70.0

CaCO3 (ref.) K20 (-8.5°C) S22 (-10.3°C) XLD6000 (-15.1°C) Ceramic Microspheres (-3.2°C)
60.0
Temperature (°C)

50.0

40.0

30.0

20.0

10.0

0.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Time (minutes)

The paint formulated with calcium carbonate is set as the reference paint. Temperature
difference is calculated using the average temperature for each paint at steady state:

Sample CaCO3 K20 S22 XLD6000 Ceramic

Average T at plateau (°C) 93.4 84.9 83.1 78.3 90.2
T difference versus CaCO3 paint (°C) 8.5 10.3 15.1 3.2

In steady state, a temperature difference as high as 15°C can be measured for the solar heat
reflective paint formulated with 3M Glass Bubbles XLD6000.

6- Energy Saving Evaluation

6-1 European Union Cool Roof Council (EU-CRC)

The EU–COOL ROOFS COUNCIL has been founded in February 2009. The aim of the Cool
Roofs Project is to implement an Action Plan for the cool roofs in EU. The specific objectives
are:
To support policy development by transferring experience and improving understanding of
the actual and potential contributions by cool roofs to heating and cooling consumption in
the EU
To remove market barriers and simplify the procedures for cool roofs integration in
construction and building’s stock
To change the behavior of decision-makers and stakeholders so to improve acceptability of
the cool roofs
To disseminate and promote the development of innovative legislation, codes, permits and
standards, including application procedures, construction and planning permits concerning
cool roofs.
The work is developed in four axes, technical, market, policy and end-users.

6-2 Calculator of energy savings

A specific calculator was developed in the framework of the EU-CRC technical axis to support
the evaluation of the energy and cost benefits of the cool roofs technology:

http://pouliezos.dpem.tuc.gr/coolroof/coolcalcenergy_eu.html

The model used for estimating savings is adapted from the paper of Petric et al., "Effect of
solar radiation control on energy costs - A radiation control fact sheet for low slope roofs",
Proceedings, Performance of the exterior envelopes of whole buildings VIII: Integration of
Building envelopes, Atlanta, December 2001, American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and
Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.

The present calculator works well for low slope roofs, i.e. roofs with pitch less than 2:12 and
the output gives annual savings relative to a black roof.
Using the above mentioned test results from the paint made with 3M Glass Bubbles
XLD6000, one can calculate the potential energy saving compared to the same roof painted
in black:
If we consider an average roof surface of 120 m², the potential annual energy saving using
this configuration compared to a black roof would be:

120 m² x 41.89 € = ± 5000 €

If we extrapolate this model by doing the comparison with a roof having a average solar
reflectance of 50, the potential annual energy saving could still be ± 2500 €

7- Conclusions

3M™ Glass Bubbles do improve solar reflectance properties of paint and coatings. A solar
Reflectance Index greater than 110 can be achieved using 3M Glass Bubbles S22 or XLD6000.

In the event the paint is applied by airless spray at high pressure, a greater pressure strength
3M Glass Bubbles such as XLD6000 will be needed to survive airless spray conditions.

Solar reflectance enhancement appears to be related to microspheres particle size: the

smaller, the better. Ceramic microspheres being very coarse compared to 3M Glass Bubbles
do not provide solar reflectance improvement compared to ordinary paint and coatings.

In addition to provide solar reflectance properties, 3M Glass Bubbles contribute to reduce

the thermal conductivity of coatings due to their hollow structure with partial vacuum
inside.

The use of solar heat reflective coatings using 3M Glass Bubbles is an inexpensive solution
that can contribute to the reduction of cooling loads in air-conditioned buildings, so to save
energy and money.

In non air-conditioned residential buildings, the improvement of indoor thermal comfort

conditions is achieved by decreasing the maximum temperatures in summer time.

Furthermore, the same technology can be transposed to non-residential applications such as

refrigerated storage trucks and warehouses, oil & gas storage tanks and cryogenic tanks and
tankers where there is a need to keep the inside cool.

Jean-Marie Ruckebusch
Senior Technical Service Specialist
3M Energy and Advanced Materials Division - Specialty Additives Laboratory
3M France
Route de Sancourt
59554 Tilloy lez Cambrai - France
Tel: +33.327.73.34.38 Fax: +33.327.73.34.40
Mobile: +33.607.95.15.03