Innovative idea might cool off Yuma A/C bills

University creates paint that keeps surfaces cooler

Coming fresh off yet another sizzling Yuma summer, the pain of paying the APS power bill is vivid in our minds.

One can have the best air conditioner systems installed, and spend a small fortune on insulation and energy efficient windows, but inevitably, when summer comes around, we know that for most Yumans, summer means a spike in the APS bill.

However, researchers at Purdue University may be on to something that can help.

Purdue engineers have developed a new white paint that reflects 95.5% of sunlight, and can keep surfaces up to 18 degrees cooler than their ambient surroundings, CNET reports.

“Your air conditioning kicks on mainly due to sunlight heating up the roof and walls and making the inside of your house feel warmer. This paint is basically creating free air conditioning by reflecting that sunlight and offsetting those heat gains from inside your house,” said study co-author Joseph Peoples in the CNET article.

According to CNET, the paint was developed over several years, and Purdue found its success with calcium carbonate – an ingredient found in chalk, limestone and seashells – as the main ingredient.

The concept is intriguing.

Yuma’s summers are broiling, and this year was especially so.

Yumans feel that pain every year, and we pay for a solution, turning up the air conditioning to make our homes and offices livable.

But what if something as simple as a coat of special white paint would be enough to help offset that heat, and in turn require less air conditioning?

We would be curious to see how this paint holds up in a Yuma summer, and what the impact is on the power bills.

It has the potential to be a game-changing invention – and it’s especially interesting because it utilizes a basic product – paint – and builds upon that product for positive change.

After all, at some point, every house needs to be painted. Imagine how cool it would be to have savings on the electric bill thanks to a fresh coat of paint?

This project is one worth keeping an eye on!

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