Sustainable Cities Group in the NEWs

AMES, Iowa — Researchers at Iowa State University have developed a model to test how shading and air flow can improve indoor temperatures during the sweltering heat of Midwest summers. 

New research by Sustainable Cities, a research group led by Ulrike Passe, associate professor of architecture, shows the effects of tree shading and evapotranspiration on building temperatures during extreme heat in the Midwest. Sustainable Cities is a project within the Center for Building Energy Research, which is directed by Passe.

Passe’s research team recently presented their work at the Comfort at the Extremes 2019 Conference in Dubai. The team includes Passe; Janette Thompson, Morrill Professor of natural resource ecology and management; Baskar Ganapathysubramanian, professor of mechanical engineering; Boshun Gao, Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering; and Breanna Marmur, Ph.D. student in natural resource ecology and management.

The Midwest is expected to see more high humidity and high dew point days in the coming decades. By 2036 to 2065, one year out of 10 is projected to have an “extreme heat event,” defined as a five-day period that is 13 degrees warmer than a comparable earlier period, according to the National Climate Assessment.

Further reading here: https://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2019/07/31/extreme-heat