The Four Seasons Hotel in Bangkok is one of the capital city's most prestigious Five Star hotels. The roof of the beautiful classic building is entirely covered with clay tiles, painted dark grey to contrast with the white facade. But this dark color increases the heat absorbed by the roof, which ratiates at night throughout the building. The air-conditioning system's workload and the hotel's electricity bill are therefore equally increased. In Thailand, 55% to 70% of any building's energy cost comes from air-conditioning.

As a technical evaluation of Planet Supra Thermal Barrier Paint's ability to turn most surfaces into high performance heat reflective shields, the hotel's chief engineer asked Trading Green to coat one of the hotel's spare roof tiles with Planet Supra (matte finish) and Planet Supra Neo (glossy finish). Rather than the original dark grey, a lighter shade of grey paint was selected: the lighter the color, the better its natural ability to reflect heat. Although Planet Supra paints offer exceptional performance in any color, darker colors are typically 2% to 3% warmer than lighter ones.  The coated tile was subsequently sent to Tokyo, Japan, to be tested at the paint manufacturer's laboratory.

Test parameters:

Half of the roof tile was painted and tested with each paint finish, Planet Supra on the left and Planet Supra Neo on the right. Temperature sensors were placed on the surface's outer and inner sides, as per the following diagram:

Measurement system:

Test results:

- Planet Supra: -20°C on tile underside, 23% cooler

- Planet Supra Neo: -23°C on tile underside, 26% cooler

Conclusion:

Coating the clay roof tile with Planet Supra Thermal Barrier Paints has greatly improved its insulating properties, effectively transforming it into a high performance heat shield. Solar radiations are reflected and as a consequence, the whole roof once coated will be cooler. The hotel's air-conditioning consumption will be reduced, the building will also contribute to mitigating the urban heat island effect in Bangkok.