The US SouthWest had a heat wave this summer where Arizona experienced 31 days in a row where temperatures exceeded 110’F. That is hot! Urban heat island effect made things worse in Phoenix where unchecked development adds more concrete to city areas. A few ways to reduce the urban heat island effect in an ever hotter summer include:
- Plant native trees to offer shade
- Put reflective coatings (reflective white coatings) on roofs
- Paint building walls white
- Install heat rejecting commercial & residential window film
- Paint over “black” asphalt to a lighter shade
- Zeroscape yards with native plants and interesting pathways
- Insulate the home so that HVAC (air conditioning) units work more efficiently
- Change a/c units to heat pump units
- Add awnings to windows
Home tint is a great way to help your HVAC (a/c) run more efficiently because reflective home tint rejects solar heat before it has a chance to enter your home through the glass windows. Silver Reflective and Dual Reflective Ceramic films are awesome at also eliminating hot spots in houses & commercial buildings along with rejecting up to 84% of the solar heat from entering. Not only does it help keep your home & office cooler, it also saves you money on your electricity bill every month by reducing the a/c usage. When it’s time to get a new a/c unit, buy a heat pump that is much more efficient and will save you money on your electric bill.
The dangerous heatwave began in June hitting CA desert, AZ, New Mexico & Texas with scorching hot weather. 2023 heat wave will go down in the record books for being scorching hot (endlessly.)
And the official sizzling numbers have come in for August. It was the warmest August in recorded history (NOAA’s 174 years of recorded temp) for both the Northern Hemisphere and the southern hemisphere. The average was 2’F warmer then in the 20th century. What do you think the temperature will be in 2024?
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