The Solacoat Insulating Coating Story

Solacoat was developed in Alice Springs, (the centre of Australia), in 1988, where the inventor was a distributor of Solar products to Cattle Stations, Aboriginal Communities and to Northern Territory Government bodies.

Heat was a huge problem and nearly all Cattle Stations had galvanized roofing on their buildings. Heat was generated by these roofs affected all aspects of living and increased the load on generators by over 40% in summer. We developed Solacoat by extensive trials and testing of various products and additives. The end result was that once Solacoat was applied to most of the roofs and walls of buildings the power load was reduced by more than 30% in summer.

Consequently the cost of a Hybrid Power system fell from around $45 000 to under $30 000 and running costs were reduced accordingly.

Reduction of Railway Lines Misalignment from Heat

In December 2000 the manager of the RIC (Rail Infrastructure Corporation of NSW) depot in Lismore asked for a quote to Solacoat the RIC depot in Lismore.  They had a huge problem with heat from the roof, making working in the demountables and lunch areas unbearable.  Consequently we received an order and people could not believe how cool it was under the roof.  Because of the extreme heat, all the tools and tool boxes on the back of the RIC service vehicles would burn the user’s hand and it was impossible to handle the tools or tool boxes without gloves.  These were painted with Solacoat and the problem was solved.

Will Solacoat Work On Rail Tracks? We suggested that Solacoat may help reduce the temperature of the rail line.  We obtained some short off cuts of rail and started a series of tests using Unidata logging equipment.  To prevent rust affecting the Solacoat we used a zinc primer base which has a specially developed rust inhibitor.

Early testing showed that on a clear day and with the ambient temperature peaking at 28C  the Solacoat had cooled the rail by 7C. Later tests show as much as 12C difference.  So impressed was the engineer in charge of the RIC for the North Coast area that around 10 kilometres of rail between Grafton and Kyogle was painted in October 2001.

Further trials have been sprayed with Solacoat, 20 kilometres in the Dungog area and a further 20 kilometres in the Yass area.  A testimonial from RIC NSW addresses Solacoat’s successful applications.