MOST people, when they think about the longevity of their building, the efficiency of their air conditioning and solar PV performance, overlook roofs and roof coatings, but they shouldn’t.
Forged from the desert furnaces of the Aussie outback, Australia’s coating industry is world class by necessity, because few places in the world need to cope with such extreme conditions.
Thermoshield has the capabilities to repair, seal, improve the insulating resistance values (R-values) and future-proof solar PV and other expensive investments.
In fact, Thermoshield is an effective solution for any commercial or private application where there is a need to reduce radiant heat, or where there is a need to preserve structures susceptible to thermal shock and corrosion.
Breaking it down: What is radiant heat, thermal shock and corrosion, and why are they important?
Thermoshield offers three distinct advantages.
Firstly, it minimises power usage and the need for air-conditioning in the home, factory or donga because of its incredible insulating properties.
Secondly, it can completely stop thermal shock.
The insulating properties and the physical barrier created by the product keeps the temperature down and stops the thermal expansion and contraction of steel.
Thirdly, it prevents rust and corrosion.
Thermoshield has been used to stop rust in steel roofs.
Radiant Heat
Radiant heat is the heat emanating from the substrate on your roof.
It is the reason the company uses anticon insulation and bats in the ceilings of housing, dongas, mess halls and factories.
The insulation principle is simple enough: by creating dead air space you limit the heat’s ability to transfer and pass through an object or a structure.
Typically, this would be achieved with fibreglass wool and a high-gloss reflective coating on the roof.
The difference between the high-gloss resin applied to tin roofs and a Thermoshield protective coating is stark.
A high-gloss coating reflects the heat away from the surface which works to a certain extent but, over time, the reflective surface will fade, tarnish and become ineffective.
Thermoshield works on the principles of insulation.
Two coats of Thermoshield is applied at 250 microns per coat (total 500-micron wet film thickness).
Once applied, Thermoshield dries to 375 microns dry-film thickness.
For such a fine coating, Thermoshield punches well above its weight.
At 500 microns wet film thickness, the Thermoshield coating performs just as well as an
R-4.5 batt, and in direct sunlight can go as high as R-6.5.
The company can guarantee its work on a restored roof for 10 years, where a brand new roof is only guaranteed for six years.
Thermal Shock
It causes warping, cracks and ultimately leaks to appear on the roof surface, and it is a real problem in our hot, mineral rich areas such as the Pilbara and far north Queensland.
When the surface of the roof heats, the metal expands, then once the temperature drops, the tin contracts and warps, causing permanent damage.
Thermoshield can completely negate the effects of thermal shock by providing a physical, impermeable and insulated barrier that keeps the roof substrate cool.
The application of this product to a steel roof not only protects it from thermal shock, by keeping the roof surface cooler, but also increases the performance and efficiency of solar PV cells.
The optimal temperature for PV cells is below 30 degrees Celsius, a temperature you would be hard pressed to find in the shade on the coolest summer’s day in the Pilbara.
Corrosion
High explosives probably aren’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a roof coating, but the applications of Thermoshield on the mine site go beyond futureproofing and insulating roofs.
It has been used as a solution for major problems caused by one of the most difficult to store and highly corrosive substances on mine sites – ammonium nitrate.
With a PH of five, storing large quantities of ammonium nitrate comes at a high cost – generally a new facility needing to be built every six years.
When Thermoshield helped Rio Tinto with its ammonium nitrate storage, the results were outstanding.
Large, open-roofed storage facilities were once given a life of six to seven years before the ammonium nitrate would cause rot in the concrete and corrosion in the tin, ultimately causing the structure to collapse on itself.
Thermoshield has provided a fire-retardant, corrosion-proof solution that continues to stand the test of time.
By applying the coating to the walls and ceilings of the structure (external and internal), the company has kept the building functional and free from corrosion and rot for nearly 10 years.
So how does it work?
Well, it’s micro-tech.
The best high-tech should operate on simple principles and that is exactly what Thermoshield accomplishes.
Custom made, ultra-durable ceramic spheres are set in a water-based emulsion that has the consistency of paint.
These microspheres have been specially manufactured to withstand the harshest conditions and treatment the Australian outback can throw at them.
The locally manufactured coating technology has been designed to be hardy, durable, simple and easy to apply using just about any sort of applicator – from a paintbrush to a 2000psi airless spray unit and everything in between.
Those micro spheres are the real, ground-breaking advantage of Thermoshield.
The insulation principle of dead air space is scaled down to the micro level and then, by layering the hollow beads upon one another, the dead air space principle is exponentially amplified.
When this is combined with the water-based emulsion that binds the spheres together, you get a rock-solid coating that insulates as well as reinforces any surface it is applied to.
The spheres are strong enough to pass through a 2000psi airless unit, but also versatile enough for the grey nomads who also love this product and paint it on by hand when they want extra insulation and protection for their caravans.
