Concrete's Light Color Reduces Urban
"Heat Island" Effects

Featured Articles:

A Primer on Cool Schoolyards, (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Keeping Cool with the Albedo Effect

The co-author of A Golden Thread: 2500 Years of Solar Architecture and Technology takes a look at how white backgrounds—be they snow, concrete or rooftops—might help bend back global warming.

Concrete's high albedo means more light is reflected and less heat is absorbed, resulting in cooler communities. This concrete characteristic is particularly noteworthy in comparison to alternatives for paving and roofing.

Simply by choosing concrete pavement and reducing the heat island effect, air conditioning costs can be lowered by as much as 18%, the intensity of air pollution lessened and the risk of heat-related health problems reduced.

Concrete pavements also reduce energy usage and costs by requiring fewer lighting fixtures to provide the same illumination level.