American Clay

Recently, Brush Masters used this product for the wall finish in a bathroom. We asked the client, “Why did you choose American Clay over other options?”; the response “I absolutely love the finished product; it completely satisfied what I was looking for; I want to put it in more areas.”

One interesting note about American Clay was released about how the product affects energy savings.  In a year-long study they found that interior walls coated with American Clay appears to provide (on average) more temperature stability than paint in a room.  In other words in extreme temperature swings the American Clay home experienced milder interior temperature swings than the painted home.

The experiment, called “Dynamic Solar”, has been conducted at the American Clay facility in Albuquerque, N.M., with data downloaded once per week. Four test units are monitored for temperature and relative humidity using a Spectrum 2000 data logger; one data logger monitors ambient condition directly next to the test units. By comparing these, one can determine how much energy will be needed to keep a building comfortable and then start shifting conditions to determine how to maximize energy savings. The experiment was created in response to American Clay clients who claimed energy savings after remodeling with the earth plasters.

Highlights

• Four identical 7 by 8 by 5 foot test structures were built using modern framing construction with R-13 fiberglass-batt insulation. Each includes one door.
  • One test structure has cement stucco exterior with interior paint.
  • One has vinyl siding exterior and interior paint.
  • One has cement stucco exterior with American Clay interior plaster.
  • One has vinyl siding exterior with American Clay interior plaster.
• During the hottest times of the day, the test units with clay interior are colder, on average, than the test structures with paint interior.
• During the coldest times of the day, the test units with clay interior are warmer, on average, than the test units with paint interior.
• Paint interior test units have a greater fluctuation during the hottest and coldest times of the day compared to the clay-interior test structures.
• Regardless of the season, the test structures with clay interior maintain a more stable interior temperature compared to the test structures with paint interior.
• To ensure the test units’ positions were not skewing results, the test units were rotated in August to shift exposure positions. This produced no change in results.