It’s winter. Not even 40 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Yet, I’m thinking about summertime, and how intense it will be, and how scary it is.
All that heat, all the energy expended to keep houses and business cool. Just the thought of boundless energy being sunk into cool systems, and the tax that this causes on an already overworked infrastructure (especially in tall, old cities like NYC)… I’m panicking just thinking about it.
A few years ago, in an article about Amory Lovins, I read that he kept his office building in Colorado cool without air conditioning, with a ‘mist’ system… something like cool-water mist being sprayed on a rock or something. I don’t quite remember the details. So, after doing some online research, I was unable to find any details on this, or any other such efficient cooling systems. But I did find other interesting information… and details that might be myth, or that need further proof, but ones that I have heard from architecture friends over the years.
The foremost example: the outside of buildings should be painted white, to reflect the sun and inhibit heat absorption. More specifically, that roofs should be painted white to cool the inside of the building and the surrounding areas as well. This roof-painting idea was recently quantified by the National Science Foundation. Apparently the temperature in cities like NYC could be reduced in summertime by as much as two degrees, because the overall ‘heat island’ effect of so many buildings and so much asphalt could be reduced by 33% just by simply painting the rooftops white.
Seems like a no-brainer… but then again, the research does say that in the wintertime, a white roof would have the converse effect, making buildings less warm, thereby requiring more energy. So what is the overall energy savings of the white rood? Hard to say. Though, anecdotally speaking, just based on my prior years in NYC… I don’t remember there being any black-outs or brown-outs due to too much heat being needed on the very cold winter days, but I *do* recall summertime power failures. I experienced my first brown-out just 2 summers ago. It was strange and scary, and – most of all – really, really hot. That night was a scorcher. You can’t use the a.c. when the power grid is down! So, based on my 10 years of personal NYC data, the take-away is: buy your white paint and get on the roof!
