The Solarenn cooperative, which combines 30 growers on more than 60 ha of greenhouses, has just completed work on the roof of its packing station. The French produce cooperative has decided to apply heat-resistant paint to the 2,500m² of the cooling unit area, in order to reduce energy consumption.
The 2,500 m² roof over the cooling unit area of Solarenn's packaging station.
After installing solar trackers, investing in energy-efficient refrigeration units and installing LED-lighting, the cooperative has decided to whitewash part of its roof. The aim is to cool the buildings using a low-tech solution: a white, protective, reflective paint, manufactured in Brittany, to prevent the warehouses from overheating in summer, thus limiting the need for air-conditioning. "This choice is fully in line with the cooperative's short and medium-term efforts to reduce its carbon footprint," explains Isabelle Georges, Solarenn's managing director.
Temperature reduction of -5°
"We saw that with white paint, we could reduce the temperature by -5°. This is the first full-scale test on 2,500 m² of the most sensitive southeastern part of the building: the logistics area with the refrigeration unit," explains Pascal Théraud, production manager. "After studying the case with Enercool, we were able to achieve a return on investment in 4 years, and almost 100,000 euros [108,452 USD] on energy costs over 10 years."
"We now better respect the temperatures required to preserve tomatoes and strawberries."
For this project, Solarenn called on Enercool, expert in cool roofing, the technique of painting roofs white to prevent buildings from overheating. The roof reflects light, no longer stores heat, and limits heat transfer to the lower layers of the roof. Thanks to this technique, the cooperative is able to meet the challenge of storing and preserving its products. "The cooling systems require less effort to reach the target temperature, so they are less overstretched and temperatures fluctuate less. As a result, the temperatures required to preserve tomatoes and strawberries are better respected. Additionally, employees are also more comfortable in the office."
Enercool teams during paint application on Solarenn's roof, with the solar trackers in the background. Enercool works with local, independent applicators. In this case, Solarenn worked with Cool Paint Solutions.
Silica aerogel
How does cool roof paint work? Cool roof paint is an ultra-white water-based paint designed for outdoor use. Thanks to reflective pigments, the paint is able to reflect light and reflect the infrared rays responsible for creating heat. The Enercool products integrate the three pillars of thermal laws: reflectance, emissivity and thermal conductivity. For example, Enercool has incorporated silica aerogels (used by NASA to protect launch vehicle heat shields from the sun's rays, now in the public domain) into its paints. "Considered to be one of the world's most powerful insulators, our paints stand out by working jointly on emissivity and thermal conductivity."
For more information:
Nathalie Jouan
Solarenn
[email protected]