Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

Harvesting rainwater from rooftops could help cities stay cool

thenationalnews.com · 5dShare

Spraying buildings with water collected from rooftops could help cities reduce the impact of heatwaves, a study has found. Using sprinklers in hot weather to distribute rainwater stored in water butts could cut air conditioning use and lower urban temperatures, according to research from the University of Manchester. Rising temperatures globally are putting pressure on public health, infrastructure and energy systems. In Europe, a summer of heatwaves has led to concerns over power production due to low river levels needed for cooling, while wildfires have come alarmingly close to a nuclear power plant in the UK. As people rely more on air conditioning to stay cool, energy demand increases and waste heat released from buildings can make towns and cities even hotter. A simulation model using Tokyo as a case study proved that automatically cooling rooftops once they reached a certain temperature could reduce the amount of energy used by A/C units. In the study, published in Earth’s Future

First report: Harvesting rainwater from rooftops could help cities stay cool and cut the number of heat wave days — phys.org, 6d