Building Overheating: Innovative Reflective Solutions from Oxi Pro Line

Whether professionals, individuals, owners, or tenants, everyone faces the same challenges and pitfalls when it comes to thermal insulation. Moreover, only 10% of homes are equipped to protect against heat. In addition to the problem of rising energy consumption resulting from attempts to cool sweltering interiors, there's a growing discomfort in homes that aren't equipped with air conditioning and are overheated in the summer, and even into the fall.

Environmental issues have made air conditioning an increasingly unacceptable solution. It is now imperative to move away from traditional approaches and find reasonable, innovative ways that are compatible with the need to save energy while ensuring comfort at home.

To venture even further...

Several phenomena influence the thermal comfort of buildings and their energy efficiency.

Solar absorption refers to the amount of solar energy captured by a material and converted into heat. High absorption causes the material and its surroundings to heat up (urban heat island). To reduce this phenomenon, you can use reflective Cool Roof or Cool Wall paints, which limit the heat absorption of surfaces.

Solar transmittance refers to the amount of solar radiation that passes through a material without being absorbed or reflected. High solar transmittance can lead to overheating inside a building in summer.

Solar reflectance refers to the proportion of solar radiation reflected by a surface instead of being absorbed. A highly reflective surface stays cooler, reducing the need for air conditioning.

Solutions such as Cool Roof roofing coatings and Cool Wall reflective facade paints help to better manage solar gain and limit overheating of buildings.

The Cool Roof technique has long been a tried-and-tested solution in countries around the Mediterranean and South America. Long before the term "cool roofing" was coined, these ancient societies were already using methods to reflect the sun's heat. The white buildings that characterize the villages of the Greek islands are certainly aesthetically pleasing, but that's not all...

The United States, pioneers of Cool Roofs...

Since the end of the 850.000th century, this concept has spread to the United States, and currently New York already has more than 2 mXNUMX of roofs painted white.

A so-called Cool Roof has surface properties that allow it to reflect a major portion of solar radiation.

Their effectiveness is assessed using the SRI (Solar Reflective Index). The higher it is, the more efficient the Cool Roof is.

Please note: Cool Roof is a label and not a brand, issued in particular by the CRRC (Cool Roof Rating Council) in the United States and the ECRC (European Cool Roofs Council) in Europe since 2011.

OXI PRO LINE technical range (*)

With 100 years of expertise in material protection, the Durieu Group and its Oxi PRO LINE range have chosen to develop innovative reflective solutions capable of protecting facades and roofs from heat accumulation.

The principle: the research focused on the desire to offer high-performance reflective products. That is, products capable of reflecting solar radiation to limit the heating of supports and the transfer of heat towards the interior of the building. The key element lies in the solution allowing light to be reflected, rather than absorbed, in order to avoid keeping a hot "mattress" against the surface. It is therefore necessary to design a white or light-colored finish. In order to offer a complete range and allow optimal heat insulation from top to bottom of buildings, the Oxi PRO LINE thermal range has two specialties for roofs as well as a solution for facades.

THERMICTOIT®

THERMICTOIT® is a water-based thermal reflective finish whose formulation incorporating very high-quality white pigments guarantees optimal reflection.

This paint is a single-product product and does not require prior application of a primer except in the case of significant water retention at roof level or in the presence of rust or when adhesion is difficult. It can generally be applied in a single coat except on certain very porous materials. Once the paint is applied, the roof is protected from heat in a lasting way. This significantly reduces the interior temperature of the home.

REFLECTCOOL

REFLECTCOOL is a high-performance roof finish resulting from the successful blend of highly technical resins. This paint, with maximum adhesion, allows for single-coat application regardless of the roof conditions where it is applied. Its performance is the same in water retention areas, where adhesion is normally difficult. Similarly, without a primer, on common bituminous or EPDM membranes in the case of a flat roof, the finish remains impeccable.

The quality of its pigments also allows it to better resist normal soiling over time compared to other reflective finishes which lose their shine. By keeping its original color intact, REFLECTCOOL retains its effectiveness against solar radiation for longer.

The plus: when cleaning is needed, the operation is simple and allows you to return to the original white. With a simple wash, stains or specks are effectively removed, thus guaranteeing tenfold longevity of the protection.

THERMICFAÇADE

THERMICFAÇADE® is a water-based finish suitable for all properly prepared (i.e., according to current DTU) facades, cleaned and with any cracks or "snags" carefully filled. It is compatible with most materials such as cement, concrete, coatings, or roughcast. If you have an old coating, you must first apply a primer to ensure optimal adhesion. This specialty offers 6 pastel shades in addition to white.

Thanks to its high-performance reflective qualities, the improvement in interior comfort in terms of ambient temperature is noticeable after its application.

The plus: thanks to its unique composition, THERMICFAÇADE® allows you to create a real protective "cover" against heat transfer. Indeed, the thermal conductivity measurement λ< <0.05 W / (mK), measured by the CSTB (Scientific and Technical Center for Building), allows it to be usually classified as an "insulating" product.