NEOtech Coatings Australia > Debunked Media > Efficiency ‘expert’ failed attempt to discredit SUPER THERM® ceramics thermal insulation coating

Efficiency ‘expert’ failed attempt to discredit SUPER THERM® ceramics thermal insulation coating

On a previous Debunked page, Efficiency Matrix based in Victoria has endeavoured to discredit SUPER THERM^® and heat reflective paints: Busting the myth on solar thermal reflective paints, and having a cool roof. John Konstantakopoulos, a Principal consultant, who founded Efficiency Matrix claims expertise in paints, coatings and testing with a video “Do Ceramic Solar Reflective Roof Paints Work?“.

This backyard field test utilised a SUPER THERM^®s pail with the branding clearly evident in the video. Konstantakopoulos appears to pretend to mix the substance in the pail and to suggest that SUPER THERM^® is no better than white paint, in the process attempting to discred our genuine NASA testing, collaboration and 35 years of expertise and performance. From the photos attached below, it is clear that there is in fact no product in the pail. He recently made some false statements in a post on the My Efficient Electric Home (MEEH) forum with 112,000 members. That post was deleted by the MEEH admins but the claims and alleged inferences remain. He admitted that he did not have our product in that pail.

John Konstantakopoulos, a Principle consultant, who founded Efficiency Matrix fake mixing a pail of SUPER THERM® to allegedly infer ceramics paints don’t work in his backyard field test then denied he didn’t use it.

As you can read the post below, extracted from the respected MEEH forum (which post has since been deleted because of John’s poorly informed comments and clearly not being honest about using our SUPER THERM^® coating and brand, which he himself admits in the post thread. John’s self-claimed expertise and attempt to prove that heat reflective paints don’t work beyond white paint is set out to follow. When asked:

Shane Strudwick: John which solar reflective “NASA” coating was that?

John Konstan: Shane Strudwick Yours actually.

Shane Strudwick: John ok interesting. I did see the pail label but needed confirmation from you. We’ll be back to you. Can you show the microns of each coating please and the thermocouples set up. At the back along with the IR back view. Can you also tell us which pump was used for the application. Can you also state where the coating was supplied from as there’s been no intent to communicate to both the Distributor and Manufacturer of your intent to test our coating and show our brand and product publicly on your channel.

Shane Strudwick: John please also confirm the batch number on our pail. Thanks.

John Konstan: Shane Strudwick I was just joking, it’s not yours. That’s not your bucket. I was just mucking around [emphasis added], send us a sample of your paint, or even a finished applied paint on zinc alume or colour bond, we are happy to do a comparison for you.

As you can see from the last response from John, his comments are at odds with the video and photos of which we have an original copy and which clearly show that it was SUPER THERM^® displayed on the bucket. He has now blurred the branding on his video.

We have 35 years expertise with thermal insulation coatings globally. John does not appear to have similar expertise. Of significant concern is that the claims he has made in his post and the testing he purports to have undertaken are not supported by evidence. Readers should be cautious about unsubstantiated claims and testing regarding products (even when the person posting claims to be an expert).

John further claims that he knows how to test and prove the performance of industrial coatings. By using a pail with SUPER THERM^®branding it infers implies that our coating SUPER THERM^® was used in the test, when he has infact confirmed in writing in the post that he did not use our product In addition to this, Joseph, who appears to be John’s assistant in the video stated “we followed the manufacturer’s instructions down to the tee” which lends itself to a perception that John knows as much or more than NASA and a US Energy Authority in testing SUPER THERM^® and coatings.

He also admitted in the thread after I said flippantly he was becoming a ”solar reflectivity paint and ceramic expert” his response”…indeed I am. You have inspired me…ceramic paints all performed worse than coatings without ceramic particles.” He does not provide any evidence to support this statement.

John went on to say, again without providing any evidence to support the statement “Shane Strudwick it doesn’t really matter what we used in the video, this report which more than likely tested your paint shows that ceramic additive does not meaningfully improve solar reflectance”.

He has made an assumption that another report online likely tested our paints when that report in fact appears to focus on another ceramic paint brand. “And the fact that you will not produce a sample for Efficiency Matrix to test, says to me, this report is correct, with regard to ceramic based solar reflective coatings/paints which includes Super Therm.” The intention here appears to discredit our product and overall performance with no supporting evidence. Super Therm has 4 ceramics, not just one!

There are two very important facts for the reader to be aware of.

1. There was no independent testing as the video was entirely produced by John, Joseph and his company Efficiency Matrix without proper expertise or knowledge in ceramic thermal insulation coatings. When questioned about micron thickness of the ceramics coatings, thermocouples, source of purchase and batch numbers of the coatings along with other more specific technical questions John ignored our requests. By using a SUPER THERM pail in his public video which did not contain our product, John has led viewers to believe it was SUPER THERM yet it wasn’t, which in our opinion brings into question every aspect of the field testing and his opinions. Having been involved in specialised industrial coatings for 35 years, as a company we are appalled at the poor ‘advice’ and spreading of misleading information to the MEEH forum members and broader community through his other channels.

2. If John is considered by the MEEH forum as an ‘Expert’ then most people on forum will take it at face value that what he’s saying is truthful, honest and accurate because MEEH has a trusted reputation. He is holding himself out as an expert on a reputable forum. His video attempts to disprove and discredit our product’s. Members of this forum would have likely viewed the video, the comments and moved on having made a decision that a ‘representative expert of My Efficient Electric Home’ and his company Efficiency Matrix is correct in his ‘field testing’ that SUPER THERM^® is no better than white paint, which is incorrect.

John has also attempted to draw a connection between an online report and SUPER THERM^®:

John Konstan: Shane Strudwick it doesn’t really matter what we used in the video, this report which more than likely tested your paint shows that ceramic additive does not meaningfully improve solar reflectance. Effectiveness of Cool Roof Coatings with Ceramic Particles 2011 – Conclusions – pdf

John has made a baseless claim that it is likely the report tested SUPER THERM^® .

To summarise the report John references:

The method of testing used in the report was SRI (Solar Reflectance Index). We already state that SRI is a relative measurement of light reflectance and heat emittance out of a surface. SRI has no thermal insulation values measured on the underside of any test materials nor does it take in infrared heat absorption that is loaded. Just because all leading testing groups, including those from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Cool Roof Rating Council use the same ASTM standard for testing reflectivity, SRI doesn’t mean the test measures the correct properties of a true thermal insulation coating and total solar nanowaves of energy. An entire global industry has been built around SRI so the platform for testing isn’t accurate regarding heat load. There is no one ASTM test for all solar factors of UV, Emissivity, Visual and Infrared heat.
Similar to R values that are used globally, R values are only ever tested in a lab at 23°C. Put it in a roof with 35°C, add moisture, add vermin, add compression and that R value isn’t the same as claimed. SRI has the flaws and only tested to 3 years ageing. Most reflective light paints record significant performance drops within 18 months. Read our article here about SRI and it’s significant flaws.
Firstly SUPER THERM® as specified by Superior Products International II, Inc is to be applied at 18 mils thick/425 microns wet. None of the paints on Page 5 of the 2011 test at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were applied to our product’s thickness. It can’t be SUPER THERM® so John’s guess was incorrect. Even the report says on page 5 “Sample A is thinner than desired because of limited coating material and difficulties obtaining additional amounts.” meaning they haven’t applied it as per manufacturer’s specifications yet tested that paint.
Page 18 – A high solar reflectance acrylic paint with no ceramic particles reduced the cooling load most significantly. Ceramic particles do not play a dominant role in total solar heat block. Reflectance of light is not blocking heat. A single ceramic may give some thermal performance benefits, however that’s why SUPER THERM^® contains 4 ceramics. The ceramics have been tested to block the spectrum of solar heat:

97% of Ultraviolet Radiation (UV) (3% of total solar heat)
92% of Visual Light (Short Wave Radiation) (44% of total solar heat white reflected; black absorbed)
99.5% of Infrared (Long Wave Radiation) (53% of total solar heat)
Block heat load non-conductor – (Emissivity blocks Heat Load)

Page 18 – Scans of solar reflectivity for coatings with ceramics over all wavelengths did not demonstrate signatures significantly different from acrylic coatings without ceramics. Solar reflectance is about light; not heat. White paint doesn’t block infrared heat. A white car on a 35°C day will be 50°C, the infrared heat passes the white pigments to load into the density of the metal. This isn’t tested for infrared heat transmission.

Testing below focuses on emittance of heat from a surface ASTM C1549 but not heat transferred below. The solar reflectance test ASTM C1371 shows how much light is reflected; again doesn’t measure heat load and heat transfer. Neither test gives an accurate result with regard to blocking infrared heat as per the SUPER THERM infrared test of ASTM E1269: Standard Test Method for Determining Specific Heat Capacity by Differential Scanning Calorimetry. Instead the testing that John refers to is the basis on SRI, not even close to accurate for true thermal insulation coatings. This also proves there’s very little understanding of heat and coatings.

ASTM C1371: Standard Test Method for Determination of Emittance of Materials Near Room Temperature Using Portable Emissometers
ASTM C1549: Standard Test Method for Determination of Solar Reflectance Near Ambient Temperature Using a Portable Solar Reflectometer

NASA contacted J.E. Pritchett do offer a 35 years in review of Super Therm as part of their Spin Off 2024 report. Super Therm was developed with NASA for 6 years. It’s the only thermal insulation coating that’s been acknowledged by NASA. Our competitors only use the name without the extensive relationship.

Despite being questioned and admitting that it was not our coating product in the video, John continues to promote the video, albeit with the alteration of our blurred SUPER THERM^® logo label as he fake mixes the coating in our branded pail and doesn’t answer of our questions. Be cautious of information that isn’t accurate. Super Therm is an award-winning coating that saves energy and continually outperforms white paint because it’s a high performance formulation aimed to block heat load.