Energy and Environmental Aspects of Cool Materials

One of the primary reasons for the application of cool materials is their energy and associated environmental impact on the built environment. Cool materials are usually applied on the roof of buildings to reduce cooling energy demand. The relative benefits of this reduction depend on the construction of the building, external weather conditions and use of the building. Through experimental and computational studies, it has been demonstrated that energy reduction benefits are significant in cooling dominated climates but is also observed in moderate climates. This chapter reviews available literature on this and also presents available simplified toolkits that can be used in feasibility studies to determine whether or not energy benefits are likely to materialize. The toolkits also calculate environmental benefits related to energy use by buildings and related cost benefits to the user. This chapter also presents additional environmental benefits related to the improvement of thermal comfort inside buildings which are not air-conditioned, the improvement of external thermal comfort which results from the mitigation of the urban heat island because of the use of cool materials and the effect on general pollution in the cities and health.

Keywords: Energy use, cooling, heating, HVAC, building, climate, indoor comfort, environmental impact, outdoor comfort, cool materials, cool roof, urban heat island, pollution, health, urban design, building design, toolkit, evaluation tool.