Paints from the Dulux Trade Light & Space colour range have been
used in a ground-breaking study by The University of Salford into
reducing domestic energy consumption. The company’s innovative
light-reflecting coatings were utilised as part of the project, a
£10 million investigation into how to make the UK’s pre-1920s
housing stock more sustainable.
According to the university, the country’s least energy efficient
homes were constructed prior to the 1920s, yet around 4.5 million of
these properties are still inhabited today and account for 23 per
cent of the UK’s total C02 emissions. With this in mind, The
University of Salford and contractor, ISG, recreated a full-size,
typical Victorian terrace house within a large concrete-lined space
at the university’s campus. During the study, which is being
supported by the British Research Establishment (BRE), academics at
the university will conduct tests inside the house to ascertain the
impact of different variables on the building’s energy consumption.
Just one of the variables being considered is the impact of certain
colours, and how particular wallcoverings alter the perceived
temperature and light within a room. To explore this, the architect
for the project, Steve Baker of Halliday Meecham Architects,
specified coatings from the Dulux Trade Light & Space portfolio for
internal substrates within the home.
The first of its kind, Dulux Trade Light & Space is created through
a unique combination of innovative optical brighteners, more
reflective paint components and cleaner tinting recipes. In
particular, the range uses and builds on patented light reflecting
LumiTec™ technology which optimises the Light Reflectance Value (LRV)
of each of the 26 colours in the collection.
In comparison to traditional paints, Dulux Trade Light & Space
absorbs an average of 50 per cent less light than conventional
emulsion paint, enhancing the illuminance and making rooms feel
bigger, brighter and less gloomy.
As a result, an average of 22 per cent of lighting energy can be
saved by allowing lower wattage energy efficient bulbs to be used to
the same effect as standard ones. This means, lights can be switched
on twenty minutes later every day on average - all of which equates
to turning off one in every five 60W filament bulbs.
“15 per cent of homes in the UK were built prior to 1920, so it’s
essential that we explore specific ways to reduce the environmental
impact of these buildings,” said Steve Waterworth, The University of
Salford’s Energy House Project Manager. “To achieve this aim, we
have to consider how every element can impact on the energy
performance of the home. By using an innovative product such as
Dulux Trade Light & Space we were able to analyse how something as
simple as paint can make a difference to efficiency levels.”
Andrew Trobe, Specification Account Manager at Dulux Trade, added:
“Traditionally, the main role of decorative coatings has been to
protect a surface or create a colour scheme. However, with new
advances in technology, paint can now provide benefits beyond
aesthetics, and the Dulux Trade Light & Space range is a perfect
example of this.”
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