Abstract
Waterborne coatings are safer to use than their traditional solvent borne counterparts and can reduce environmental impacts. As the market share for waterborne coatings has grown, there has been increased focus on their performance. Simultaneously, the building industry has been challenging coatings manufacturers to provide functional coatings. No longer are aesthetics, corrosion prevention and protection enough; a coating can and should provide multiple benefits to the user. One of the fastest growing segments of the functional waterborne coatings market is liquid applied insulation coatings. Energy use and conservation are topics at the forefront of many in the industrial market and coatings manufacturers have made benefit claims promising to reduce energy usage, prevent condensation, and reflect solar heat, but do these coatings work? What situations are they best suited for?
This paper will discuss the characteristics of heat flow, various insulation material technologies associated with these coatings, as well as the established test methods for testing the effectiveness of the coatings, and examine real-world applications and expectations of product performance. We will attempt to show how different insulation materials can affect the performance of a coating and the benefits of different types of insulating coatings currently on the market.
