Urban Heat Islands (Hardcover, 2013)

Temperatures in cities are generally increasing and ambient temperatures result in increased system wired electricity use. Hashem Akbari explains how technologies that can be used to lower the summertime ambient temperatures and increase comfort, including light coloured surfaces on roofs and walls, trees and vegetation to shade buildings, walkways and streets and light coloured paving materials for streets, parking lots, etc, because when sunlight strikes an opaque surface, some energy is reflected, therefore reducing albido. Trees are relatively inexpensive to plant and they shade buildings. This will be the first book investigating the causes and effects of urban heat islands providing details on the technology and the solutions to mitigate summer heat islands.