At its heart, Terrafic Energy is an organization committed to empowering people to lead a sustainable life using natural resources and renewable energy.

Our Contacts

711, Al Hudaiba Award Building Block B, Dubai, UAE PO Box 124342

sustainability@terrafic.org

+ 971 4 326 6625

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Cool Roof Paints

COOL ROOF PAINTS – How Exterior and Interior Paint Protects from Hot Weather Conditions.

Climate Coating offers passive cooling to protect your home from excess heat gains and maintains an ambient indoor environment.

Summer season is in full swing and so are the ACs and fans inside your homes. To #BeatTheHeat, we resort to several active and passive cooling techniques. While both techniques combat overheating and enhance the energy efficiency, they have different areas of application. Active cooling consumes energy and is driven by fans, heat exchangers, chillers, and refrigerators. In our previous article, we talked about Adiabatic Pre-cooling systems which provide active cooling by spraying cold water over the condenser coils of conventional chiller units.

In contrast, passive cooling techniques reduce energy consumption by either preventing heat from entering the interior (heat gain prevention) or by removing heat from the building (natural cooling).

Now that you know the difference between active and passive cooling, let’s talk about the role of paint and its importance during summers. The first point to consider while selecting paint is the colour. Colours not only elevate your decor, but they can also influence the temperature of your house. Dark colours absorb a higher percentage of the incident heat and light. As per NREL, dark colours absorb around 70-90% of the sun’s heat. Your house absorbs heat or radiation from the roof and walls which is ultimately transferred indoors via conduction. You may have noticed that your house feels warmer during the evenings. This is because the heat absorbed throughout the day is trapped indoors. A simple solution to maintain your indoor energy balance is the application of cool roof paints. Climate Coating is an intelligent functional paint, developed using Thermo-Ceramic Membrane technology that reflects up to 91.4% of incident radiation. There are 10,000+ colour shades that offer a higher Solar Reflective Index (SRI) than any other normal paint, which helps to keep your home cooler during the hottest of summers.

This innovative paint provides benefits beyond just the decorative aspects. Applied just like any ordinary coat, SICC paint offers energy-saving solutions by lowering the need for air-conditioning. It has very high colour stability and elasticity which is resistant to cracking due to thermal expansion. Furthermore, it is dirt-repellent and removes moss and algae on facades, thereby lowering the cost of re-painting. The application of SICC paint can be divided into three categories – interior, exterior, and industrial.

Outdoors:

ThermoActive for roof – Extremely high solar reflectance, high elasticity, and high resistance against acids, alkalis, and oxides

ThermoProtect for Façade – Acts as a barrier that protects the walls from UV radiation, water, dirt, algae, and moss

Indoors:

ThermoPlus – Creates a pleasant room environment, even heat distribution, odourless, very Low volatile organic (VOC) content.

Industrial application:

Industry Special – Resistant protective coating with a temperature resistance from -40°C to +150°C. It can withstand quite a bit of mechanical stress. Reduces energy expenditure for heating or cooling.

While SICC paints are the best choice to #BeatTheHeat, here are the things you need to consider while choosing a paint for your home:

Interior Temperature – The most crucial aspect of choosing paint is to identify whether you want your interiors to be hot or cool. This depends on the climatic conditions of the country you live in.

Existing features – A dark interior and cluttered house will always feel hotter. This is because during the evenings, the building and all the objects within release the heat they have absorbed during the day. Therefore, consider reorganizing and decluttering, along with selecting a colour that compliments your style

Return on Investment – As an added benefit, ClimateCoating brings you savings in the form of reduced energy and maintenance costs for a period of 10- 15 years.

Budget – SICC paints cost higher than the regular surface coats because of their heat reduction properties. The application of ThermoActive Roof Paint can reduce the surface temperature of the roof by 10 degrees Centigrade. This eventually leads to higher natural indoor cooling.

Long story short, ClimateCoating paint not only plays an important part in your home design, but its functionality goes beyond enriching your home’s overall appeal and comfort. Reach out to us at +971 4326 6625, mail as at sustainability@terrafic.org or visit our website for a free assessment and site visit of your premise.

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Summer Energy Saving Devices

AC temperature at 16, fan at full speed, curtains drawn, blankets on, and Netflix & chill – sounds like a perfect day of the summer season, right?

March marks the arrival of the summer season – and skyrocketing electricity bills. No matter how hard you try, you cannot help but fall upon cooling appliances as your saviour.

However, with the world getting hotter by the day, it’s high time we become cognizant of the amount of energy we use. We are listing down some simple energy-saving hacks you can resort to in your day-to-day life that will not just beat the heat but will also bring down your DEWA bills by a few 100 to 1000s of Dirhams every month.

1. HVAC strategies for the win

Due to the harsh climatic conditions of the UAE, AC loads account for over 75% of the energy consumption in buildings. This combined with the rising cost of fossil fuels is causing massive environmental concerns. Hence, decreasing the energy consumption of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning is the need of the hour. But how do you do it? HVAC up-gradation and control optimization increase the energy efficiency of the systems. Retrofitting HVAC with smart automation equipment such as smart thermostats that are automated and control the heating or air-conditioning. Retrofits include replacing the plug fan, chiller fan, electrostatic filter, expansion valve, or adding adiabatic cooling accessories that can generate up to 40% savings in the long run.

2. Keep your cooling system running efficiently.

The best way to maximize energy affordability is to regularly maintain your cooling systems. Also, avoid placing lamps or TV sets near your room-conditioning thermostat. In doing so, the thermostat will detect heat and will cause the air conditioner to run for longer than usual, causing higher energy consumption.

3. Regulate your Thermostat

Air conditioning consumes a huge amount of electricity during summers, so if you want to save energy without compromising on the comfort of your AC, follow these simple tips:

– Keep your thermostat set at 24 degrees or higher. With every degree, you can save up to 5% energy. So, the higher the temperature, the greater the savings.

– Replace your AC if the current one is 10 years or older. Choose a 4 or 5-star AC that can help you save 25% of cooling consumption.

– Don’t just rely on the AC for cooling. Use fans to circulate air. This will help the rooms become cooler quickly, saving up on a lot of electricity.

4. Adiabatic Coolers

Just like the temperature, electricity bills are also on a constant high. So, a lot of people refrain from using these appliances all the time. A lot of companies are exploring Adiabatic cooling as a means of energy conservation and savings for homes and offices.

Adiabatic cooling is an eons-old method of cooling spaces using the absorption of heat by water as it changes phase from a liquid to a vapor. Ancient Egyptians took advantage of this method by hanging wet clothes in the openings of their living quarters and letting the dry desert air pass through to provide a cooling effect.

Similarly, an Adiabatic cooling mesh reduces the temperature of the air entering the condenser coil of the chiller, facilitating improvement of equipment reliability and efficiency. This system improves the performance of all air-cooled equipment operating in adverse conditions such as those we experience in Dubai and it provides this cooling effect without using an additional energy source.

The Ecomesh Adiabatic Cooling concept is based on the natural thermodynamic properties of water that occur without loss or gain of heat. Water is sprayed intermittently onto large non-metallic mesh panels installed in front of the heat rejection coils of chillers, remote condensers, rooftops installations. The evaporating water creates the cooling effect, lowering the air temperature to up to 10 degrees from the ambient temperature before it reaches the condenser coil.

Ecomesh has a very flexible design that can be custom-made to fit chillers of any size. Overall, it is a very sustainable solution bringing substantial energy and water savings when compared to other mechanical cooling options available in the market.

Terrafic Energy conducts an energy study and compares your baseline costs (in the absence of any energy savings solution) vs savings accrued upon EcoMesh installation. If you want to save up on electricity bills without compromising on your cooling needs, adiabatic coolers are your best bet. Visit www.terrafic.org to get an adiabatic cooler installed to save on your energy bills without compromising your lifestyle.