International Coatings Scene
EUROPE
BY SEAN MILMO
EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT
MILMOCW@RODPUB.COM
Energy saving coatings in Europe
It may not
be easy for
coatings
companies
to establish
themselves
in the energy
saving
coatings
segment.
Energy-saving coatings in buildings could be one of the fastest growing coatings sectors in Europe over the next few years.
However, it may not be easy for coatings companies
to establish themselves in the segment because of a
plethora of regulations being planned by the
European Union (EU) to control energy efficiency
standards in construction.
The European Commission, the EU’s
Brussels-based executive, has decided that
any material, including coatings, which is
claimed by its supplier to have energy saving
capabilities must be subject to new standards
and to uniform methods for calculating their
energy efficiency levels.
“There’s going to be a proliferation of rules
and regulations which will be confusing to
both manufacturers and end-users of energy
saving materials and coatings,” said an official
at one construction materials association. “It
will also push up costs for manufacturers
because of the necessity to carry out additional tests on their products.”
The regulations could also be an extra burden for SMEs and small contractors applying
coatings and materials because they will have
to provide their own energy saving data to
comply with the new rules.
Furthermore some coatings could be put at a
disadvantage because degrees of energy efficiency could be measured on the basis of the energy
content of the coating itself. Petrochemical-based
coatings could be discriminated against because
of the relatively high levels of energy already
embodied in the product.
Polyurethane foams, which are increasingly
being applied as coatings in buildings with
new spray equipment are, for example, considered to have a high energy content.
“It is not possible to make a proper comparison on the energy efficiency of different insulation materials on the basis of their energy
content per kilogram,” explained Oliver
Loebel, secretary general of the Federation of
FoamPolyurethaneRigidEuropean
Association (BING).
“Polyurethane, for example, has a high level
of embodied energy per kilogram compared to
stone or glass wool or wood fiber but in terms of
megajoule per 100 square meters the amount of
embodied energy in polyurethane is much
lower than these other materials,” he said.
The coatings and materials producers want
to ensure that their products are treated within the regulations as parts of roofs, windows,
floors and other sections of buildings rather
than stand-alone entities.
Nonetheless, decorative coatings companies
are now finding that they may have to tread
carefully if they claim that their products have
energy saving functions.
A revised Construction Products Regulation, which lays down uniform health, safety and environmental safety data for building
materials throughout the EU, has been
extended to cover energy efficiency and heat
retention.
“The regulation does not cover decorative
paints,” said Jacques Warnon, technical director at the European Council of Paints,
Printing Inks and Artists Colours Industries
(CEPE). “But it does cover energy performance. So if a producer claims that its coating
improves insulation it may have to comply
with the regulation.”
A major legislative initiative is the introduction of a revised directive on energy performance in buildings which when incorporated into the laws of the individual 27 EU member states will tighten up energy efficiency
standards not only in new buildings but renovated ones as well. As a result energy savings
standards will be applied to the vast majority
of EU’s entire buildings stock.
Under the new regulation member states
will be obliged to actively promote low-to-zero
carbon emissions and net energy consumption
in buildings.
