Energy Consumption Reduction by High Solar Reflective Paint

High solar reflective paint has been widely used nowadays. It is claimed that it can substantially reduce heat gain through building envelope and energy consumption of houses. This study investigated energy saving from using high solar reflective paint compared with conventional paint. The chosen color tone was dark brown. Actual energy consumption was measured from two houses. One house was painted with high solar reflective paint. The other one was painted with conventional paint. Both houses were identical: 4 m wide x 6 m long x 3.16 m high with 24 m(2) floor area. The houses were located in Samut Prakan, Thailand. From actual measurements during March and September 2019 which were in the hot and rainy seasons of Thailand, it was found that high solar reflective paint could reduce exterior surface temperature by as high as 8.1 degrees C and save energy by 31.24% from decreasing cooling load due to less heat gain through the envelope. The energy simulation using the EnergyPlus software showed 32.69% saving which agreed well with the actual results.