Awataha Plaza on AUT's North Shore Campus. Photo / Simon Devitt
Awataha Plaza on AUT's North Shore Campus. Photo / Simon Devitt
Auckland University of Technology recently conducted a fascinating study, which found the temperature in a building can depend on something as simple as the colour of its roof.
AUT's North Shore Campus is partially made up of pre-fabricated buildings, positioned together in what is known as the AE block. Staff and students noticed the interiors of the structures had a tendency to heat up even more than others.
It was hypothesised that the high temperatures could possibly be influenced by the buildings' roofs - all of which were painted red, a dark colour which traditionally absorbs more heat than lighter colours.
Dr Adam Taylor of the School of Engineering at AUT was given the support of the institution's Estates Group to conduct tests to see if applying white roof to the pre-fabs would help reflect light from the sun, and in turn reduce the cooling demands of the buildings.
All but one of the structurally identical buildings had their roofs painted white. The remaining building retained its red roof to act as the control in the study.
Two weeks of temperature monitoring was carried out in the autumn. Although it was found the roofs had little impact on the interior temperatures in the cooler parts of the day, the buildings with white roofs were found to be up to 7 degrees cooler than that with the red roof in the hotter periods of the day.
This led AUT to realise that air conditioning would not need to be installed in the buildings of the AE block. It is now considering having white roofs as a standard approach for structures on its campuses.
The research has been published in the International Journal of Sustainable Building Technology and Urban Development.
