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Super Therm and Reflectivity, Emissivity and Heat Load for Solar Reflective Index

SUPER THERM blocks 96.1% of the heat load

Generally people don’t actually understand how solar heat works.

Solar thermal heat is split into 3 parts:

• 53% Infrared
• 44% visual
• 3% UV

Blocking infrared and visual heat is the key to a quality cool roof coating and true energy reduction.

The reality is that all solar radiation is converted to heat when absorbed by a material, unless the material is a solar cell. Solar heat is then converted into watts per square metre of solar radiation.

Block the solar absorption of infrared heat and keep your building cool. SRI is about reflectivity and emissivity…not solar absorption.

Want to truly block heat, check the solar absorption rating. The lower the better. Super Therm at just 0.25mm is .031 or just 3.1%…0.559 W/m2/K. U value.

Super Therm Heat Load Solar Reflective Index SRI Infographic NEOtech Coatings Australia

To understand heat, it’s important to understand the differences between reflectivity, emissivity and heat load that make up the Solar Reflective Index or SRI.

SRI is determined through solar reflectance and thermal emissivity.

Solar Reflectance or reflectivity is about light and not the total sum of solar heat blocking. White paint has 70% reflectivity, which means it reflects 70% of visual light which is 44% of the total radiation heat. Meaning white paint reflects 30% of the total heat.

For example on a 28°c day, the bonnet or hood of a white car is 53° and a black car is 73°. If the white paint blocked 100% of the heat, the temperature of the car would be 28° or ambient.

The white paint doesn’t block infrared heat which is 53% of the total radiation heat from the sun. Once the heat is loaded into a surface, it maintains that heat load which is the heat that can burn your skin to touch.

The infrared heat penetrates through the white car’s paint and loads into the metal because of the metal’s density which is the same as your roof.

So in reality reflectivity testing is about only some of the nanowaves for visual and infrared but not all the full heat wave spectrum.

The other part of SRI, is thermal emissivity which is the infrared heat not blocked but re-emitted from the substrate through the paint that’s allowed it to already be absorbed. 

Emissivity is measured against a black surface which absorbs 100% or 1.0 of the heat “load” and then released back to the atmosphere which is the equalised balance of heat load or 100% of the heat.  

If an emissivity rating is .92, does it mean that 92% of the heat load that was absorbed into the surface is thrown off the surface again reducing the heat absorbed and transferred to the cool side, not at all.

No matter the emissivity number, the surface loads all the heat which then transfers through.

The concept of an emissivity rating is like having an umbrella made from a flyscreen that allows 100% of the rain through while trying to measure how quickly you can dry while still being rained on.

This is how the Solar Reflective Index is determined through reflectivity and emissivity…it doesn’t add up or connect to the purpose of blocking heat for true energy efficiency.

The essence of energy savings long term is blocking the heat load, nothing more.

For true energy efficiency, the Heat Load Rating (HLR) also includes heat load…how much heat does the paint or coating allow to be absorbed and loaded.


Heat Load Rating

Emissivity (1.0) – (Vis + UV + IR / 3 = Solar Energy Average) = Heat Load Rating

E – (SEA) = HLR

Super Therm: 1.0 – (.92 + .99 + .99 / 3 = .96) = .04 HLR

Emissivity – 100% absorbed and equalized
HLR – Heat Load Rating
SEA – Solar Energy Average (Visual Heat, UV Heat, Infrared Heat)


The important question is what amount of heat is being absorbed and transferred through the substrate to the cool side?

Heat load is the key!

Super Therm® Solar Heat Block coating is unlike any other heat reflective paint or ceramic coating in the world because it blocks 95% of the heat load and heat absorption into any material.

Super Therm® contains 4 specific micron sized unique ceramics, chosen from over 7,000 compounds, originally developed with NASA, that work together with a formulated flexible resin binder which reflects all forms of heat to stop the heat load.

It’s been tested to last over 30 years where no other heat reflective paints or coatings offer such proven outstanding performance, longevity and test results!

In fact, Super Therm® was consistently tested at 23°, 50°, 75° and 100° celsius with the results proving it blocked 99% of all the BTU heat load from the hot side to the cold side at all temperatures.

Super Therm’s unique compound combination works to block 95% of the heat load. It allows only 5% of the heat through and is therefore cool to touch unlike the white car example!

From over 30 years of ceramic research, Super Therm® has the correct formulation of 4 ceramic compounds chosen from over 7,000 available with 6 years initial collaboration with NASA to block heat load, heat absorption and flame spread.

Allowing only 5% of the heat through as determined from exact testing is what you want…to truly stop heat!

A key ceramic compound in Super Therm® is 50 times lighter than paper and doesn’t physically have the density to absorb the heat and hold it so the coating and substrate won’t get hot. 

  • Another blocks 99.5% of the long wave radiation infrared heat which is 53% of total energy.
  • Another blocks 99% of ultraviolet light which is 3% of the total energy.
  • The fourth ceramic reflects 92% of the short wave visual light which is 44% of the total energy.

Therefore, Super Therm® constantly throws heat off like a shield, exceptionally fast and that’s true emissivity. 

Super Therm’s low absorption of just 5% and a high emissivity rating of .91 means there’s only a 5% heat load but this 5% is released at a .91 rate.

Now this is working to block the heat load and releasing heat at a high rate to always keep the surface close to ambient temperature.

If reflectivity is about light and emissivity is about infrared heat re-emitted, the ability to block the heat and heat load is vitally important.

Even when dirty, Super Therm® won’t allow the infrared heat to physically load into the coating unlike other paints that rely on being clean, new and bright white.

Additionally with all this heat protection you get the highest rated surface flame spread protection as tested by NASA and lasts over 20 years.

For thousands of years, natural ceramics have proven they can withstand heat and the elements without deterioration which is not in the makeup of synthetic paints. 

4 ceramics specifically formulated to work together are a proven powerful combination to block solar heat for energy efficiency and safety.

Super Therm® Ceramic Solar Heat coating is unlike any heat reflective or ceramic paint in the world…it doesn’t load the heat and works all the time, every time, no matter the conditions or temperature, guaranteed!

Super Therm Heat Load & SRI Infographic


KW Savings from Super Therm® = Actual Dollar Savings

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