Photo: Walmart via Flickr
Policy Solution
Cool walls
Mandate
Overview:
Summary: Cool walls apply treatments to building facades to reduce the solar absorption of a building's walls, which can reduce the urban heat island effect.
Implementation: Update code requirements for construction of new buildings and substantive rehabilitations. Government can mandate cool walls in building codes or energy codes.
Considerations for Use: Cool walls are less effective in colder climates that have greater heating needs in the colder months. Cool walls are best suited to buildings with low roof-to-wall and window-to-wall ratios. Additional research is needed to evaluate effectiveness of cool walls in dense areas.
- Policy Levers:
MandateMandates are government regulations that require stakeholders to meet standards through building codes, ordinances, zoning policies, or other regulatory tools. - Trigger Points:
City planning processesIncludes city initiatives such as the development of climate action plan, pathway to zero-energy, master plan, transit plan, energy mapping etc.Introducing new or updated zoning/codesIncludes codes, zoning requirements or by-laws pertaining to urban planning and building construction activity. - Intervention Type:
Buildings and Built Form - Sectors:
Buildings
- Target Beneficiaries:
Property owners, Residents - Phase of Impact:
Risk reduction and mitigation - Metrics:
Energy savings by building, Indoor air temperature reductions, Number of buildings compliant with provision, Outdoor ambient air temperature
Impact:
Implementation:
- Intervention Scale:
Building - Authority and Governance:
City government - Implementation Timeline:
Medium-term (3-9 Years) - Implementation Stakeholders:
City government, Private developers, Property owners and managers - Funding Sources:
private investment, Public investment - Capacity to Act:
High
- Cost-Benefit:
Low - Public Good:
Low - GHG Reduction:
Medium - Co-benefits (Climate/Environmental):
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions - Co-benefits (Social):
Create jobs, Save on utilities