The need that this project strove to address was the improvement of building insulation using Decorative paints. This would reduce the energy needed to maintain a building at a comfortable living/working temperature with corresponding financial and environmental (carbon emission) savings. It was intended that this need would be met through this project formulating, synthesising, testing and proving the required Decorative paint that could be applied by traditional means thus allowing wide exploitation opportunities.
The tangible benefits that this project delivered were materials and paint formulations for improved insulating Decorative paints. Laboratory evaluation and modelling studies showed evidence that the paint had the desired improved insulating performance but the estimated payback period, of 5 -15 years depending on the source of a buildings heating, was long and would be even longer in already better insulated buildings. An extensive full trial of the preferred Decorative paint was carried out in a refurbished office building, with extensive logging of energy use and temperature, and against comparable areas that were treated with conventional paints. The paint maintained standard appearance and durability requirements, but normal variation in the energy use of the building was much more significant than any expected energy saving benefit and so it was not possible to demonstrate the desired insulation benefit. It was further concluded that it is probably impossible to demonstrate such a small benefit in a realistic setting.