Effectiveness of perylene pigment on the reduction of energy demand of a building

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the performance of eight perylene diimide pigments as a hypothetical building facades using EnergyPlus. Design/methodology/approach A hypothetical building located in Tehran is modeled using EnergyPlus, and the effectiveness of the pigments was examined. Furthermore, the performance of the pigments was compared with those of common commercial black (carbon black) and red (iron oxide) pigments. Findings The results show that the studied black pigments reduce the cooling energy demand up to 37 per cent in comparison with carbon black paint and the red ones, which reduce the value by as much as 32 per cent in comparison to iron oxide. Originality/value This study demonstrates that the application of cool paints rather than common paints will significantly reduce the cooling energy demand and subsequent costs.