Paint the energy efficiency numbers
Paint that cools down buildings and saves electricity sounds either too good to be true or like science fiction. It is, in fact, neither. The science has been proven, as has practical application and now a largescale rollout is transforming military bases in one of the hottest provinces of South Africa.
The largest single cool-surface project ever in sub-Saharan Africa is currently being rolled out on military bases in South Africa’s Limpopo province. Not only is it making personnel’s working environments more thermally comfortable, but the data that is being gathered will be used to advise policy in the country.
The scale of this project is impressive: the first phase involves 470 800m2 and the second 900 000m2; together, an area equal to approximately 1.37 million m2 will be covered in cool-surface paint by the end of 2025 when the five-year project is scheduled to be completed. By the end of 2023, 366 000m2 of building envelope, i.e., walls and roofs, had already been painted, turning personnel housing, schools, crèches, clinics and mega military structures into far more comfortable working and living spaces and cutting down dramatically on air-conditioning use. In fact, says Dr Karen Surridge who leads this collaborative project on behalf of the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), some residents are saying that their offices are now a bit chilly in winter – fortunately a short season in Limpopo.
While paint is considered to be a low-tech solution, the application of the cool-surface variety does involve more than a paintbrush and scaffolding. The old paint has to be stripped completely and the surface primed properly before the painting starts. And, much like sunscreen that also protects, the cool-surface paint has to be applied to a certain thickness. “The paint contains a compound similar to what is found in sunblock and works in much the same way in that it pushes heat and light away from the building,” explains Sturridge. Given how important application is, the project rollout includes training and upskilling artisans in the military to be able to implement this project should it be nationally expanded.
To date, the project has delivered over 50 new jobs. Job activities and/or skills include roofing inspection, site preparation, use of scaffolding, minor repairs to roofs and spray guns, as well as health and safety procedures and quality assurance. The next phase of this SANEDI cool-surface project in the region is expected to double the number of new jobs and upskilling opportunities. The contracted project leader on site is a young woman with only matric to her name, but an innate ability to lead a project. “She is a born project leader,” says Surridge of Hilda Muthivhi.