While world leaders are struggling to tackle global warming, American researchers claim to have found a simple way to cool cities - by painting the roofs of buildings white. According to a Science Daily report, the research demonstrates that white roofs can be an effective method for reducing urban heat. It has the potential to significantly cool cities and mitigate some impacts of global warming. The research team found that if every roof across the world were entirely painted white, the 'urban heat island' effect could be reduced by 33%. This would cool the world's cities by an average of about 0.7 degree fahrenheit, with the cooling influence particularly pronounced during the day, especially in summer.
Asphalt roads, tar roofs and other artificial surfaces absorb heat from the sun, creating an urban heat island effect that can raise temperatures, on average by 2 to 5 degree fahrenheit (about 1 to 3 degree celsius) or more compared to rural areas.
In the study, the team used a newly developed computer model which provided scientists with an idealized view of different types of cities around the world, the report says. However, the team cautioned that there are still many hurdles between the concept and actual use of white roofs to counteract rising temperatures.
Cities are particularly vulnerable to climate change because they are warmer than outlying rural areas, the study says. White roofs would reflect some of that heat back into space and cool temperatures, much as wearing a white shirt on a sunny day can be cooler than wearing a dark shirt, it adds.
The authors emphasize that their research should be viewed as a hypothetical look at typical city landscapes rather than the actual rooftops of any one city.
In the real world, the cooling impact might be somewhat less because dust and weathering would cause the white paint to darken over time and parts of roofs would remain unpainted because of openings such as heating and cooling vents. In addition, white roofs would have the effect of cooling temperatures within buildings. As a result, depending on the local climate, the amount of energy used for space heating and airconditioning could change and help reduce climate change.
Courtesy ET Realty dtd.14-05-2010
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