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AIST TODAYNo.17 Summer 2005 [ PDF:15.7MB ]


Energy-saving Effect by Applying Solar Refl ective Paint to Automobiles


Solar reflective paint (SRP) is considered as one of the most effective technologies to reduce energy consumption for cooling of buildings and is expected to mitigate heat island effect in urban areas. We applied SRP to automobile bodies and measured fuel consumptions for automobile air conditioning systems. Our preliminary measurements showed that a rise of body reflectivity by 67.3% reduces the fuel consumption for cooling by half. Because the application of SRP was demonstrated to raise the surface solar reflectivity by 5-40 percents, it is well expected to contribute to improving vehicle fuel efficiency.

Fig1
Fig 1: Increase in the solar refl ectivity of an automobile body coating (Black #209).

Fig2
Fig 2: Comparison of the surface temperature by the model cars.

Relational Information

AIST Today Vol.5,No.4 (2005) p.28-29



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