While we appreciate the time you took to voice your opinion of our recent note on our blog, it would help to keep in mind that we install industrial coatings, not residential applications.

We are a coatings applicator, so we went to the manufacturer of the insulation coating to set the record straight.

Reflective roof coatings should not be considered in comparison to insulation coatings. The insulation coating blocks a lot of the IR band and other wavelengths which allow for low radiant absorption into the coating. The coating does not have a high “wick” affect of heat transfer like conductive style insulation.

There is no R value assigned to this coating. Instead, a k value is used (thermal conductivity expressed in BTU-in/Hr-ft squared-F degrees).

The manufacturer has “thousands of applications” where pipes have been coated and they have the data and technical calculations to prove it’s insulation properties.

They also were aware of the Kryton controversy you mentioned. In the future, we will carefully couch our “radiant barrier coating” language so as not to confuse anyone. Thanks again for your input.

TMI Coatings Team
http://www.tmicoatings.com

There is no way this product will work like this on hot pipes!
First of all you are talking about two different things here. Reflection of radiant heat and backside conduction. Reflection takes place when the coating faces the heat source such as the sun.
It is impossible to reflect heat when the coating is on the hot pipe. The heat source is behind the substrate and can be referred to as backside conduction.
You show this as “new on the market” however these coatings are far from new. Many have re-surfaced under new names since the late 80′s early 90′s.
I would suggest posting all of your testing literature such as ASTM that supports your claims.
Here’s what can happen if you don’t: http://www.ftc.gov/os/2002/06/krytoncmp.htm