Can radiative cooling coatings be compatible with traditional paints, enabling low-cost, large-scale painting and renovation?
Publish Time: 2025-10-14
Amid frequent urban heat waves and rising building energy consumption, radiative cooling coatings, a "passive cooling" technology that provides energy-free cooling, are gradually moving from the laboratory to real-world applications. However, the success of a technology hinges not only on its superior performance but also on its integration into existing construction and maintenance systems. Traditional building exteriors are extensively decorated and protected with various coatings. If radiative cooling coatings rely on specialized substrates or complex processes, their widespread adoption will face significant resistance. Therefore, compatibility with traditional coatings is crucial for cost-effective, large-scale painting and renovation of existing buildings.Fortunately, modern radiative cooling coatings are being designed to seamlessly integrate with existing construction systems. Many products utilize water-based or solvent-based binders, and their application methods are virtually identical to those of standard exterior paints—apply by brush, roller, or spray, requiring no specialized equipment or training. Applicators can apply these specialized coatings to roofs, walls, and even metal structures without changing their operating habits. This "plug-and-play" approach significantly lowers the technical barrier to entry, making radiative cooling no longer exclusive to high-end buildings but a widely replicable, affordable solution.More importantly, the radiative cooling coating's formulation has been carefully designed to ensure compatibility with traditional coatings. Some products can be applied directly as a topcoat over existing waterproofing or old paint films, eliminating the need for complete removal. This not only saves renovation costs but also reduces construction waste, aligning with the environmentally friendly principles of green renovation. This non-destructive construction method is particularly valuable for older buildings – eliminating the need for major demolition and renovation. Simply by replacing the paint during maintenance cycles with a radiative cooling product, performance can be upgraded, transforming otherwise silent roofs into active heat sinks.At the material level, developers optimized the pigment system and film-forming substances to ensure that the coating maintains high solar reflectivity while also possessing the adhesion, weather resistance, and stain resistance required of traditional coatings. It not only resists UV aging, rain erosion, and temperature cycling, but also maintains a clean surface over long-term use, preventing cooling performance degradation due to dust accumulation. Some formulations are even color-adjustable, breaking the early limitations of "must be white." This allows radiative cooling coatings to meet functional requirements while also balancing architectural aesthetics and urban design.From an economic perspective, compatibility with traditional coatings directly determines the affordability of radiative cooling technology. Large-scale industrial production has driven the cost of these coatings down, eliminating the need for additional construction equipment or structural modifications, further reducing overall application costs. For property managers, municipalities, or industrial parks, this means energy-saving upgrades can be completed within regular maintenance budgets, without the need to apply for special renovation funds. This "low-cost, embedded" model is the core driving force behind the widespread adoption of this technology.Ultimately, the compatibility of radiative cooling coatings with traditional coatings is not merely a technical adaptation but a conceptual fusion—it doesn't seek disruption, but rather integration. It doesn't force buildings to change their form, but rather gently empowers them with new capabilities. In this subtle transformation, countless ordinary rooftops and walls have quietly become nodes in the city's cooling network, weaving together an invisible "cold web" that quietly cools the city even at its most blazing. This low-intervention, high-efficiency transformation path is the only way for sustainable technology to reach the masses.
