THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF THE COOL SURFACES PROJECT

• Improved maintenance of building envelopes, especially roofs and walls.

• Cleaning of dust build-up on roof surfaces.

• Protection against corrosion, rain and UV damage.

• Passive-energy cooling of most building types without the need for generated electricity, leading to reduced energy consumption for cooling appliances and H-VAC systems.

• Fire-retardation of between 30 minutes and two hours, depending on the dry-depth thickness of the paint application. This allows time to extinguish fires and stop them from spreading, especially in informal settlements, which saves lives and prevent property losses.

• Improved thermal comfort and productivity of occupants in un-air-conditioned structures immediately after application. Reduces the cooling demand on top floors by up to 20%.

• Greater resiliency to extreme heat events and climate change. Studies indicate a cooling potential of between 2°C and 4°C over cities, keeping us well within the thermal budget for global warming mitigation.

• Reduced peak-load demand reduces electricity consumption and the concomitant greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power stations.

• Improved air quality increases health benefits for urban populations.

• Protects the health of especially the elderly, the sick and infants who are most vulnerable to extreme heat.

• Lowers the ambient air temperature of the country, allowing us to continue using coal until sufficient sustainable alternative energy technologies are available.

Every 100 square metres of cool roofing offset the heating impact of 0.6 tons of CO2 emissions per year. Over its lifespan, the roof offsets the warming effect of 24 gigatons of CO2 – equivalent to taking 500 mediumsized power stations offline for 20 years.