Development and testing of photovoltaic pavement for heat island mitigation

The phenomenon of heat island increases the urban temperature and the energy demand for cooling, as well as worsens the comfort and environmental conditions in the urban environment. In order for the consequences of the phenomenon to be counterbalanced, important mitigation techniques have been proposed. The pavements cover a very high percentage of the urban surface and contribute to a significant degree to heat island's growth in cities and towns. The use of cool pavements achieves significant decrease in the surface temperature as well as in the flow of sensible heat towards the atmosphere. Therefore, it seems to be one of the most important proposed areas of mitigation as far as the aforementioned phenomenon is concerned. This assignment deals with the development and experimental testing of a new technique for the mitigation of the urban heat island, this of the corporation of photovoltaics in pavements. The objective of this assignment is to evaluate their contribution in the mitigation of the phenomenon. The experimental procedure was divided in two time periods: the one took place during the summer autumn 2012 and the second during the summer 2013. The measurements were done on a daily basis in different weather conditions. In addition, the results were checked by a theoretical mathematical model. The whole measuring campaign indicated that lower temperatures were measured on the PV pavement than those measured on the other two materials (soil, asphalt). The numerical predictions are compared with the experimental data where similar results are found. In order for the contribution of these pavements to the improvement of urban microclimate to be measured, a simulation of an appropriate model took place. More specifically, the model Envimet 3.1 was applied in one particular area of Athens with and without the (incorporation) of the photovoltaic pavement. The outcome of the aforementioned experiment proved that the incorporation of the photovoltaic pavement can achieve a surface temperature decrease of 5 K as well as a decrease in the ambient temperature of almost 1 K. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.