Project Title: Limited application of cool surfaces to mitigate neighborhood-level urban heat islands

Objective/Abstract

Cool surfaces, including roofs, walls, and pavements, have been extensively studied in the literature as a means to mitigate the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. However, these solutions can be expensive, and many underprivileged neighborhoods cannot afford a large-scale implementation. However, studies have shown that it is precisely those neighborhoods that could gain the most from cool surfaces. The present study examined the benefits of applying cool surfaces to just 50% of the area in a hypothetical urban neighborhood.

Equipment/Materials Used

Computational (OpenFOAM and Python)

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Lev Khazanovich

Sponsors and Collaborators

Anthony Gill Chair funds

Current Student(s)

Dr. Sushobhan Sen

Former Personnel

NA

Key Findings

• The predominant wind direction plays an important role in the effectiveness of cool surfaces.
• Cool surfaces applied to the upstream half of a neighborhood can have about 20% more effective relative to cost than applying it to the entire neighborhood.
• Cool surfaces applied to the downstream half of a neighborhood is about 30% less effective relative to cost than applying it to the entire neighborhood.

Buzzwords

-construction methods