Global warming is a serious issue, impacting the world as we try to cope with rising temperatures and changing weather conditions. Part of mitigating the impact of global warming is through human ingenuity and now, researchers have uncovered something that may help matters. It turns out that cool roofs, green roofs and hybrids of the two may help reduce warming from urban expansion.
In order to assess the effectiveness of these roofs, the researchers decided to examine them a bit more closely. Cool roofs are painted white or other light colors to reflect sunlight. Green roofs, in contrast, promote plant growth. The scientists looked at how different roofs fare across different geographies and climates in the U.S.
"Each can completely offset the warming due to urban expansion and can even offset the warming due to greenhouse gas emissions," said Matei Georgescu, one of the researchers, in an interview with USA Today. "Our work shows that geography matters."
In fact, the researchers found that different roofs are more effective in different areas. For example, what works in California's Central Valley, like cool roofs, does not provide the same benefits to other regions of the U.S., according to Phys.org. A white roof may cool southern and northern climes in the summer, but in the winter it can cause locations to use more heating in an effort to keep a building warm. This means that it's crucial to understand how environmental factors will impact whether or not a roof will be more benefit or more hindrance.
"The energy savings gained during the summer season, for some reasons, is nearly entirely lost during the winter season," said Georgescu in an interview with Phys.org.
The findings reveal how important it is to assess location when building new structures. More specifically, they also show how innovation can help reduce global warming. By using these new innovations, we can potentially help mitigate the impact of a changing climate.
The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
