Inserting air-conditioning units and ceiling fans inside of buildings makes the air easy to breathe. What you may not know is that you can also make changes to the building’s exterior to combat extreme temperatures. Adding white paint and coatings to the roofs of homes, apartments and other structures can help entire cities deal with the heat.
City-dwellers suffer more during heatwaves because the majority of buildings have dark roofs. These absorb the UV rays and make the surrounding areas even hotter, insulating the stagnant air into little pockets called heat islands. While darker shades like black collect the sun’s radiation, white has a high albedo and will reflect it — this means that cities can use paint and coatings to make the roofs of homes, condominiums and businesses somewhat resistant to heat. It’s an incredibly effective way to counter some of the challenges that global warming has presented — research has shown that white roofs keep cities cooler than their traditional counterparts and more than roofs covered in plants.
City governments and the businesses within the construction industry would be wise to work with leading chemical companies carrying high-quality paints and coatings that can make this achievement possible. It’s a financial investment that will require dedication to completely fulfill, but even a single block of white rooftops will make a noticeable difference when the temperature spikes. Residents will be pleased because the move reduces the heat inside of the building, as well as outside of it. You can acquire these solutions from the company CCC Chemicals, which is one of the top chemical suppliers Canada has to offer — they have been in the business of Canada research chemicals for almost an entire century. They have carefully sourced materials catering to the paints, coatings and construction industries for years. Their extensive portfolio has the solution Titanium Dioxide from the leading mining and metals company Tronox Limited — it adds instant durability, brightness and white pigment into paints and coatings. This chemical product would be incredibly convenient for when you want to prepare roofs for heat waves.
Some urban areas are following similar techniques to the white roofs, but they are applying it close to the ground. The city of Los Angeles has found that coating streets in white lowers temperatures during times of extreme heat — they have found that the difference can reduce the total temperature by up to thirty degrees Fahrenheit. Normally, the city streets and small roads are paved with black asphalt, which absorbs the sunlight in the same way as the roofs. Using a light coating will make it easier for people to breathe, limit energy use and shrink the city’s total carbon footprint.
Global warming is causing the number of heat waves to multiply and amplifying their intensity — unless there are major transformations in handling carbon emissions, this will continue to get worse. One way that packed urban areas can reduce the impact on the population right away is to use bright paints and coatings to cool down.
