Mitigation of UHI Effect with the Incorporation of PCM in Concrete Pavement-Case Study: City of Rotterdam

The Urban Heat Island Effect, defined as more elevated temperatures in urban areas with respect to the surrounding areas, is accentuated by concrete pavement. These temperatures are raising cooling costs and leading to power outages worldwide. Phase Change Materials, known as PCM, if incorporated correctly in the concrete pavement mix, can lead to the mitigation of UHI by lowering surface and air temperatures. In this paper, a case study of a busy street in Rotterdam city, with an area of over 60% pertaining to concrete pavement, was simulated using Envi-Met software. The thermal properties of the resulting mix were used. The results were promising, showing a decrease in the surface temperature of almost two degrees Celsius during the day. As it is known that every one degree lowering of temperature is equivalent to 6% to 10% of electrical energy savings, then the effect of PCM incorporation also alleviates CO2 emissions and yields cost savings.