The objective of this topic area was to seek proposals that test and evaluate the efficacy of material and non-material solutions to reduce the effect of the built environment on heat island amplification. Proposals explored one or more of the following material and non-material heat island resilience solutions and perform a cost-benefit analysis:

• Cool Roofs: Monitor and compare surface temperature, air temperature, and building energy (i.e. using a calculator like the one produced by Oak Ridge National Laboratory) use for a year or more and compare adjacent buildings, one with a cool roof and one without.
• Cool Pavement: Monitor and compare the surface temperature and air temperature over two adjacent pavements: one standard pavement and one pavement coated with a highly reflective coating over the course of a year or more. Identify any material changes of the two pavements over the course of the study (e.g., cracks, crumbling, coating coming off, etc.).
• Trees and Vegetation: Monitor and compare temperature, air quality beneath and adjacent to buildings, and energy use of buildings with and without nearby tree cover.
• Solar Canopies: Monitor and compare the thermal effect of solar canopies over parking areas, buildings, etc. Document energy savings as a result of the solar energy produced for nearby facilities.
• Multi-tech Strategy across cantonment: Implement various heat island reduction strategies (e.g., cool pavements, trees, cool roofs, solar canopies) across a broad cantonment area. Monitor and compare the thermal effects over a year or more across the cantonment area.
• Modeling: Develop heat island models specific to DoD installations, which are not quite urban and not quite rural. There is a gap in models that look at compounded interventions over time. What would a long-term heat island reduction process look like for an installation?
• Other policies, strategies, and adjustments in activities to reduce extreme heat exposure.

Projects that also considered the military personnel’s lived experience (quality of life) effects of these materials or strategies were considered favorably. All material solutions should have also accounted for the energy and emissions used to produce the new solution versus standard solutions. Data analysis should have considered possible differences in observed patterns when viewed by climatological season.

Addressing the objectives described above will benchmark new material and non-material strategies and policies to reduce amplified heat island exposure around the built environment of DoD installations. Employing cost-effective cooling strategies using technology and updated building codes would ideally reduce installation energy costs, improve life cycle effectiveness of buildings and systems, and improve health outcomes for military personnel.

The built environment absorbs and emits much more heat than most natural and vegetated environments. This “heat island effect” can amplify warming near buildings during extreme events by a dozen degrees or more when compared to temperatures under the shade of trees. Such effects can increase the use of air conditioning and utilities cost, and, in some cases, amplify the toll on human health for military personnel operating on hot runways, large asphalt areas, or other outdoor jobs. Several studies have demonstrated the cooling benefits of various material technologies such as cool roofs, cool pavements, and more. According to the Heat Island Community Actions Database, the EPA notes dozens of examples of state and local voluntary initiatives tagged by type of cooing activity (e.g., cool roof, trees and vegetation, etc.) and activity category (e.g., design, guide, project, etc.). The EPA created a report on Reducing Urban Heat Islands: Compendium of Strategies in 2008, but the cost-benefit studies cited to justify the effectiveness of such interventions are outdated. Some recent studies suggest minimal cost-benefit of reduced emissions and utilities costs. This statement of need seeks proposals that can perform an objective analysis specific to military installations.