IMPACT OF SHADES FROM BUILDINGS AND TREES ON THERMAL CONDITIONS IN CARS

Abstract

Various studies have demonstrated that the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect poses an environmental threat to sustainability as forests have given way to buildings to accommodate the land-scarce cities. Besides climate change, structures and vehicles are factors that emit heat into the environment thus contributing to the heat island effect in the urban areas. Building materials are inclined to retain the radiated heat from the surrounding, and vehicles are being more pollutive with the increased usage of air conditioning. In the presence of UHI within the cluster of tall buildings, hot air generated gets trapped on lower grounds during the day and is released into the cool night sky. Mitigation and adaptation strategies to reduce heat generated from human activities are drawing interest in the built environment industry. This paper focuses on how vehicles contributing back to the condition can optimize the best shading type, and alleviate the UHI effect by reducing the overall energy consumption rate specifically through cooling. Through experimental and comparative analysis, this study explores the temperature and relative humidity rate of change within a stationary vehicle under the building and tree shades. Based on the findings, while the humidity level is the highest under tree shades, less energy is utilized to reduce the temperature within the stationary vehicle with the windows slightly open for cross-ventilation. This report highlights the importance of providing appropriate shelter from direct solar radiance exposure to reap the maximal benefit shading provides and mitigate UHI.