heat-related illness, air quality, water use, and
energy use.”
“It is estimated that a 1 degree Fahrenheit
reduction in air temperatures in Phoenix can
result in a 1.5% to 3% reduction in residential
use of potable water,” Sailor said.
In addition to helicopter images, Sailor said
the researchers use cars taking air and infrared
readings, sensors planted in the pavement
and a custom cart measuring mean radiant
temperature as it rolls along sidewalks
and streets.
“We basically get subsurface temperatures,
surface temperatures and then air temperatures,”
Sailor said.
The Phoenix research team will take readings
over time to determine how the cool pavement
responds to city life, Sailor said.
“As they wear – as people do donuts in
intersections and leave skid marks and dirt – the
reflective properties change for the worse over
time,” Sailor said.
Cool pavement coatings are typically made of
polymers, the binding chemicals also used in
house paint, and more energy and carbon is
required to manufacture polymers than normal
asphalt coatings, Levinson said.
Phoenix uses CoolSeal, which California-
based GuardTop LLC said on its website is
not a polymer, but rather a water-based,
asphalt-emulsion the company claims can
reduce surface temperatures by 10 to 30
degrees Fahrenheit.
Reflective cool pavement also does not
guarantee comfort in the immediate