Study of the Impact of Cool Roof on Urban Thermal Comfort in Hot Arid Climate, Biskra – Algeria

Abstract

The Uncontrolled urban sprawl and the unadopted building to the environment are the main causes that generate the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon. This phenomenon contributes to the degradation of the environmental quality of the interior and exterior spaces and increases the energy demand of buildings. In hot and arid regions, the cooling needs of space during the hot season are much greater. This situation imposes the use of electrical air-conditioning equipment for longer periods, which leads to a drastic consumption of electrical energy, implicitly, rise the greenhouse gas emissions, which in turn accentuate the phenomenon of the urban heat island. In this context, one of the most effective strategies to moderate heat stress at the urban scale is the adoption of the cooling roof technique "cool roof”. In fact, solar reflectivity (SR) and high emissivity (IE) of cool materials allow them to absorb less solar energy than conventional concrete roofs, reducing the amount of heat transferred to the atmosphere. This research aims to evaluate the impact of cool roof on the mitigation of the urban heat island phenomenon and to investigate its effect on reduction of energy consumption. Experimental work was carried out in Biskra hot and arid climate.