A paint trial is taking the heat out of Alexandrina’s council infrastructure.
Alexandrina Council’s Alexandrina Wastewater division is trialing new paint technology to cool down the temperatures inside cabinetry housing essential electrical equipment.
The Australian-developed thermal paint can reduce the internal temperature of electrical cabinets by up to 15 degrees, significantly reducing the risk of operational problems and system failures due to extreme heat conditions.
Council recently compared temperatures inside two pump station cabinets located in full sun a kilometre apart in Goolwa over a seven-day period.
The pump station with the new thermal paint on the exterior reached a maximum temperature of 37 degrees. The pump station with standard exterior paint reached a maximum of 55 degrees.
As a result of the trial, Alexandrina Wastewater will progressively repaint Council cabinet assets with the new thermal paint.
The challenge is selecting appropriate colours that provide the best thermal performance with acceptable community aesthetics.
The lighter the colour, the better the thermal properties but light, bright colours don’t often blend in with certain environments.
Alexandrina Wastewater is council’s water management division and operates 24/7 tomaintain the five Community Wastewater Management Schemes across our district.
