The whitest white will replace air conditioning
A new paint that reflects up to 98.1% of sunlight can help keep your home cool.
Because of global warming, the world would need up to 14 billion units of air conditioning by 2050. Not buy, need. However, this will create a vicious cycle that further drives global warming due to (wrong) energy usage.
But there’s hope! Scientist created the whitest white paint. It’s the nearest white counterpart to Vantablack, the blackest known substance. It reflects up to 98.1% of sunlight.
If we were to coat residential and commercial buildings with the product, the need for air conditioning would be reduced immensely. Especially in hot, poorer areas where air conditioning isn’t widely available, such as India and Africa, would benefit from this new technology.
In recent tests, the team found that the paint kept surfaces 10.5°C cooler at night and during the day 4.5°C cooler. In comparison, a commercial white paint increases surface temperatures by 6.8°C.
Before bringing it to market, they have to test the paint for environmental, health and safety issues. But we can call it a significant advancement in reflective coating technology.