Australian consumers only : USA & World enquires & information visit spicoatings.com - Authorised Australian & New Zealand Distributor
Most people look at one number and think they understand performance. That is the mistake.
Solar reflectance reports are technical documents. If you read them properly, they tell you exactly how a surface behaves under real sun exposure. If you don’t, you end up comparing marketing claims instead of physics.
Let’s break it down properly.
Solar reflectance is the fraction of total solar energy a surface reflects away from itself.
Total solar energy is made up of three parts:
Most of the heat load sits in the infrared range. If a coating reflects visible light but not infrared, it can look white and still get hot.
A proper report should clearly state:
If it does not show the breakdown, you are missing critical information.
Before you even look at the number, look at the method.
Common legitimate standards include:
Each method has different conditions and limitations.
If the report does not reference a recognised standard, it is not a technical document. It is marketing.
You can review ASTM standards here: https://www.astm.org
This is where most confusion happens.
A coating might claim: “85% reflectance”
The real question is: 85% of what?
If that number refers only to visible light, it does not tell you how much heat is blocked. Heat is primarily in the infrared range.
A proper solar reflectance report will state Total Solar Reflectance (TSR), not just brightness.
For example, independent testing of Super Therm® demonstrates extremely high total solar heat rejection, not just visible reflectance. The difference matters because it directly affects surface temperature and heat loading.
Reference: https://neotechcoatings.com/super-therm-testing-and-results/
Reflectance and absorptance are linked.
Absorptance + Reflectance = 1 (ignoring minor transmission)
If a surface reflects 0.90 (90%), it absorbs 0.10 (10%).
Absorbed energy becomes heat.
The lower the absorptance, the lower the heat build-up inside the substrate.
If the report only lists reflectance but not absorptance, calculate it yourself. It is basic physics.
Reflectance controls how much energy enters.
Emissivity controls how much heat leaves.
A proper performance assessment should include both.
High solar reflectance + high infrared emissivity gives strong surface temperature control.
This is why cool roof programs reference Solar Reflectance Index (SRI), which combines reflectance and emissivity.
You can review the SRI calculation method under ASTM E1980.
The U.S. Department of Energy provides a practical overview of cool roof principles here: https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/cool-roofs
New coatings perform differently from weathered coatings.
A credible report may show:
If only the initial number is shown, you do not know long-term behaviour.
Durability matters. Especially in industrial and high-UV environments like Australia.
Reflectance is a surface property. But performance is not just reflectance.
If a coating is 250 microns dry film thickness, like Super Therm®, it is not just reflecting light. It is also influencing:
A thin film with engineered ceramic structure behaves differently from a thin paint film.
That is why reading reflectance alone does not tell the full performance story.
Lab reflectance does not always equal field temperature reduction.
A serious performance evaluation includes:
For example, government testing such as the City of Adelaide Cool Roof Trial demonstrated measurable internal temperature reductions under real Australian conditions.
Testing documentation available here: https://neotechcoatings.com/super-therm-testing-and-results/
Be cautious if you see:
If those are missing, you are not comparing materials. You are comparing brochures.
Solar reflectance is step one.
True performance comes from managing:
Surface temperature stability reduces:
Reflectance reports are useful. But only when interpreted correctly and placed inside the broader context of thermal surface science.
Do not chase the biggest number.
Ask:
That is how you read a solar reflectance report properly.
ASTM International – Solar Reflectance Test Standards
https://www.astm.org
U.S. Department of Energy – Cool Roof Overview
https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/cool-roofs
NEOtech Coatings – Super Therm Testing and Results
https://neotechcoatings.com/super-therm-testing-and-results/
Converting a Toyota Coaster bus into a motorhome is a smart project. You gain space, durability and the ability to travel anywhere. But one issue shows up fast once the…
Every summer the same pattern repeats. Temperatures climb. Air conditioners run longer. Electricity demand spikes. And households open their power bill wondering how it got so high. Most advice focuses…
Passive Cool Roofs That Cut Heat Load Before It Enters Your Building A cool surface is not a new idea. What’s new is treating the roof as a thermal management…
The U.S. Energy Authority has long promoted reflective or “cool roof” technologies as a way to reduce solar heat gain in buildings. These systems typically rely on light-coloured surfaces that…
A report titled “Impact of Roof Colour and Insulation on Thermal and Energy Performance of Residential Buildings” produced by Deakin University in collaboration with the Insulation Council of Australia and…
Super Therm® is a multi-ceramic heat-blocking insulation coating designed to reduce solar heat load on exposed surfaces. When applied to metal structures such as aluminium ship and boat roofs, it…
In the insulation world, spray foam is often promoted as the ultimate solution. It delivers high R-value per inch, excellent air sealing, and the ability to fill cavities and irregular…
“Nano ceramic technology.”“Insulative ceramic particle.”“Advanced ceramic coating.” The language sounds precise. It sounds engineered. It sounds proven. It sounds authentic. But ceramics are not a single technology. They are one…
Thermal bridging is one of the most underestimated causes of energy loss in buildings. It does not matter how thick your insulation is.If heat finds a path around it, performance…
Laboratory testing matters. ASTM data matters. Controlled conditions matter. But buildings do not operate in laboratories. They operate in Adelaide summers. Middle East heat. US desert airports. Marine environments. Transportable…
Walk outside on a 35°C day.Touch a dark metal roof. It is not 35°C. It is 60°C, 70°C, sometimes more. Ambient temperature is the air.Surface temperature is radiation plus absorption…
Most insulation conversations ignore one hard truth. The substrate matters. Metal, concrete and wood do not behave the same under solar load. If you do not understand surface science first,…
Most people still believe insulation must be thick to work. Batts. Boards. Foam. Layers of material measured in tens or hundreds of millimetres. Then along comes a coating that cures…
Most buildings don’t fail because of insulation thickness. They fail because of timing. Thermal inertia and lag time are where real performance is won or lost. If you ignore them,…
Most conversations about building comfort revolve around insulation thickness and R-values. That is only part of the story. Comfort is not just about slowing heat flow. It is about how…
If you do not understand how heat actually reaches a building, you will never control it. Most discussions around insulation jump straight to R-values and bulk thickness. That misses the…
The industry is trained to think thicker equals better. More R-value. More bulk. More layers. But thickness only addresses one part of heat transfer. It deals primarily with conductive flow…
Most insulation conversations are built on one assumption. That insulation works by absorbing heat. It does not! And that misunderstanding is costing buildings money, performance and long-term resilience nor planning…
In the late 1980s, satellites were picking up something most building codes still ignore. Cities were glowing. Roofs, roads, metal structures and concrete were absorbing solar radiation all day and…
The Problem Most People Miss Heat does not move one way. It transfers through radiation, conduction and convection. Most “cool roof” products focus on one or two levers. Usually reflectivity…
Most of the building industry still worships R-value. Higher number. Thicker insulation. Problem solved. That logic worked in the 20th century. It won’t work in a future 2050 climate. If…
Most building conversations focus on R-values, insulation thickness and HVAC capacity. But the real fight starts at the surface. Surface heat behaviour determines how much solar energy actually enters the…
Cool roofs are being pushed hard. White surfaces. High reflectance. Lower surface temperatures. Reduced urban heat. All valid. But most coverage stops at the surface and ignores fundamental heat physics…
Most buildings are designed to manage heat after it is already inside. Air conditioning systems grow larger. Energy bills climb. Equipment cycles harder. Maintenance increases. Occupants complain. Asset life shortens.…
The market is shifting. Energy is expensive. Carbon is regulated. Tenants are informed. Investors are cautious. And buildings that overheat are liabilities. A thermally unstable building bleeds money. It relies…
Most of the buildings and industrial assets operating today were never designed for 45°C heatwaves, extended UV exposure, rising energy costs, or aggressive corrosion cycles. Yet that is exactly what…
What Actually Matters When Heat and Flame Are Involved Fire performance is one of the most misunderstood parts of building materials. A product can claim to be “fire resistant,” “non-combustible,”…
Every coating system eventually faces the same test. Sun. Moisture. Movement. Contamination. Time. The real question is not whether a surface will degrade. It is how fast, how predictably, and…
Steel fails for two main reasons. Heat and corrosion. We treat them as separate problems. They are not. If you allow solar radiation to superheat a steel surface, you accelerate…
The Problem Across Australia and New Zealand, thousands of buildings are operating under ageing metal roofs. Warehouses. Schools. Modular buildings. Container offices. The default solution when performance drops is expensive…
Heat blocking coatings work. But only when they are installed correctly. Too often, performance gets judged on the product when the real issue is application. A high-performance coating applied poorly…
Thickness has dominated insulation thinking for decades. More bulk. More R-value. More material. But what if performance is not about thickness at all? A 0.25 mm dry film thickness sounds…
If film thickness is wrong, performance is wrong. It’s that simple. In high-performance coatings, especially insulation and corrosion systems, dry film thickness is not a suggestion. It is a specification…
Coatings do not fail because of chemistry.They fail because of surfaces. You can have the most advanced insulation or corrosion system in the world, but if the substrate is contaminated,…
Application method is rarely discussed in technical detail, yet it directly affects coating performance. Spray and roller are not just different tools. They influence film build, density, surface profile, curing…
Extreme heat is not a theory problem. It is a surface problem. Roofs hitting 70°C. Steel containers becoming ovens. Jet bridges, rail carriages, mining camps and defence assets absorbing solar…
If you are specifying coatings for roofs, steel structures, containers or façades, the real question is simple. Will it still perform in 10, 20 or 30 years? Accelerated weathering exists…
Everyone talks about performance on day one. Very few talk about performance after year ten. In building science, coatings and insulation systems are often assessed on initial lab values. Reflectance.…
What Actually Proves Performance? In the coatings and insulation industry, everyone claims performance. Energy savings. Heat reduction. Fire resistance. Durability. But there is a clear line between manufacturer testing and…
Thermal cameras do not guess. They measure infrared radiation and convert it into a visible temperature map. When used correctly, they expose one simple truth: That difference changes everything for…
There’s a big gap between what a product says it does and what it can actually prove. In the coatings and insulation space, that gap costs money. It costs performance.…
In building science, the lab is controlled. The surface is not. In the lab, temperature, humidity, air movement and radiation are isolated and repeatable. On a roof in Adelaide, Dubai…
Government field trials carry weight. They are independent, structured, and often influence policy, funding and specification decisions. But they are also frequently misunderstood. If you do not read them properly,…
There is a lot of noise in the insulation coatings space. Big claims. Impressive percentages. Selective test data. If you want clarity, you need to understand what ASTM and ISO…
Why surface science must now shape planning law Urban heat is no longer a design inconvenience. It is a public health, infrastructure and energy problem. Cities are running hotter because…
We are not designing for yesterday’s climate anymore. Australia is already experiencing longer heatwaves, higher peak temperatures, intense rainfall events and elevated night-time temperatures. Buildings constructed to 1990s logic are…
Energy ratings were built for a different era. They measure compliance. They don’t measure real-time solar punishment on a surface at 2:30pm in January. That gap matters. The Problem: Ratings…
For decades, building performance has been judged by a narrow set of metrics. Mostly R-values. Sometimes U-values. Occasionally energy modelling outputs that look precise but ignore how heat actually behaves…
For decades, the industry has defaulted to thicker insulation, higher R-values and bigger HVAC systems. Yet governments around the world are now testing something far more direct. Control the surface.Control…
Social housing is meant to protect the most vulnerable. Yet across Australia and globally, many social housing projects are thermally fragile. They meet minimum code. They tick the box on…
Urban heat is not a future problem. It is already driving higher energy demand, worsening heat stress and increasing night-time temperatures in our cities. If councils want measurable impact, they…
Where They Succeed and Where They Fall Short Cool roof policies are now embedded in building codes across the US, Europe and parts of Australia. On paper, they make sense.…
White roofs are everywhere. High solar reflectance. Lower surface temperatures. Ticked compliance boxes. On paper, that looks like progress. In reality, reflectance is only one part of heat transfer. If…
Passive Cool Roofs That Cut Heat Load Before It Enters Your Building A cool surface is not a new idea. What’s new is treating the roof as a thermal management…
Looking to join one of the world’s leading coatings companies. Contact us if you’re a quality applicator looking for new products and markets!
Genuine SPI COATING PRODUCTS can only be purchased from SPI Authorised Representatives displaying the SPI Authorised Logo. Note: All reduced energy claims - results may vary in different conditions and locations.
