Even though the temperature is in the 80s today the cold weather earlier this week in Omaha reminded me that Fall begins this Sunday. If you are like me you are thinking about winterizing your home and I have details on a hot new tip.
An item in the September 16, 2007, Omaha World Herald’s Parade Magazine stated that you could simply “mix a non-toxic ceramic powder into your paint to reduce the amount of heat passing through your walls to the outside.” Well, I began calling various local paint and hardware stores asking about the ceramic additive. No one I talked to had seen the article nor heard of the additive. So I went on-line.
Sure enough, there are a few companies that make insulating additives. Hy-Tech Thermal Solutions touts itself as a global leader in insulating ceramic technology and a NASA Technology Partner. It makes a product called Hy-Tech Insulating Additive for Paint that can be stirred into any paint making that paint an insulating coating. It can be added to any brand of oil base or latex paint; whether it’s interior, exterior house paint, roof paint, wall paint, ceiling paint or industrial paint.
The thermal insulating coatings are based on tiny ceramic “microspheres.” The additive looks like talcum powder. Here is the scientific explanation given by the company: “The hollow interior is a vacuum and physics law states that nothing can move by conduction through a vacuum, since it represents an absence of matter. In effect it is a miniature thermos bottle…a microscopic hollow vacuum sphere that resists thermal conductivity and suppresses sound.”
Sounds logical to me. Here are some of the other claims the company makes for its additive: The additive when applied creates a tightly packed film of the microspheres. This ceramic layer provides “improved fire resistance, protection from harmful UV rays, repulsion of insects such as termites and protection from the destructive forces of weather.” The paint also lasts longer and is resistant to staining. Using the paint on the outside of your home has primarily summer benefits and using it on the inside provides you with winter benefits. It is also recommended you apply two coats.
Other companies involved in making such an additive are Mascoat and DuPont. You can find these companies on-line at www.hytechceramics.com, www.mascoat.com or www.DuPont.com.