As temperatures continue to rise worldwide, developers are looking to ancient methods that were used to keep homes cool centuries before air conditioning became a thing. These methods are cheap, and they don't require the use of any energy whatsoever.
According to the Guardian, green roofs and solar chimneys are making their long-awaited comeback.
Green exteriors are nothing new. They've been used to insulate buildings going back to ancient Mesopotamia, when they were also used to provide food and as a habitat for livestock. Green roofs were also used in ancient Greece, Rome, and China. In the Middle Ages, they were popular throughout Europe.
A green roof doesn't absorb heat like a typical tar-based roof. Ideally, a green roof will be covered in lightweight soil and vegetation that is native to the area. Native plants are adapted to a given area so they generally don't require much upkeep. They are also good for pollinators.
Creating a living wall on the exterior of buildings using climbing plants can also reduce energy costs by 23%.
Besides the money-saving potential that green exteriors provide by cutting on cooling costs, cities like New York and Chicago offer tax incentives for turning asphalt surfaces into green spaces.
The potential for green exteriors is massive.
"You think of schools, shopping centers, buildings that have massive rooftops," Bruce Dvorak, a landscape architect at Texas A&M, told the Guardian. "The federal government can really help support these initiatives … It's the kind of thing that drives us crazy, because there is no reason not to do it."
Another ancient technology experiencing newfound popularity that was used to cool homes in the Middle East for centuries is solar chimneys. Solar chimneys are a passive cooling system with a dark-painted shaft on one side of a building that absorbs heat. As the hot air rises, it sucks in cool air from elsewhere that makes its way through the home.
The resurgence of these ancient technologies couldn't come at a better time. In 2022, air conditioning accounted for about 3% of global carbon pollution, one of the main drivers behind the overheating of the planet, and that number is only expected to rise as the planet continues to get warmer.
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