America's Hot Parking Lots

US Parking Lot Inventory: (Asphalt)

UC Berkeley’s Mikhail Chester, Phd. has determined that the total square feet of parking lots in America now out numbers the total square feet of roads. Chester calculates 105 million-2 billion spaces In the United States, located primarily in the cities. (Parking infrastructure: energy, emissions, and automobile life-cycle environmental accounting; July 29, 2010; stacks.iop.org/ERL/5/034001). With 12’x20’ being the average size space, these findings convert to 25 Billion-480 Billion square feet of black asphalt parking lots in the US.

 “Buildings and pavement made of dark materials absorb the sun's rays instead of reflecting them away, causing temperatureS of  surfaces and air around them to rise” (www.heatisland.lbl.gov/) Understanding that this black surface is 30˚-70˚ hotter than ambient air during daily peak heat and re-radiating heat into the atmosphere at night, it is simple to comprehend why the cities are heating up.  It is now known that Urban Heat Island is a man-made problem. 

Cool Coatings for Asphalt:   

The Cool-America Plan will provide incentives FOR developers and contractors to discontinue the common practice of "topping off" their work with black tar asphalt emulsions, and urge the use of cool colored solar-reflective coatings to raise the albedo and preserve the pavement.  Durable nano-engineered reflective coatings are now available in colors which lower the life-cycle cost.  See Ciity of Phoenix downtown Parking Lot.

Changing the color of asphalt pavements will lower absorbed heat and lower ambient air temperatures.  This converts to reduced energy consumption in kilowatt hours by the city cand its residents.  In real terms,  the indirect annual savings would total an additional 12 percent-0.7 billion kilowatt-hours, or $70 million. Implementing these cool community   measures would lower the need for peak electrical generating capacity by about 1,500 megawatts-equivalent to two or three large power plants, according to DOE studies.

Retail Developments:         Fashion Shopping Malls  super size parking lots (every major city)

Amusement Parks:             Pedestrian ways and parking lots (Fairgrounds, Parks)

Sports Events Venues:       Giant parking lots (Nascar, Indy, Datona –Sports Coliseums)

Major Corporations:         Large parking lots and cement/asphalt roofs (Nationwide)

Casinos:                                Large parking lots  (Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Indian Reservations)

Strip Malls:                          Large parking lots (Industrial & Neighborhoods)

Car Dealers:                        Large asphalt parking lots  (Every city, often near airports)

Cities:                                    Roads, bike lanes and crosswalks, Parking lots (Downtown areas)

Airport Tarmac:                Tarmac, aprons, and super size parking lots (Every major city)

Schools:                                  Play yards and parking lots (Every city every few miles)

Home Owners:                    Asphalt roofs and driveways  (Located in every city square block)