Unusually high temperatures have been recorded around the world this summer (2022).
In London, the maximum temperature exceeded 40 degrees Celsius for the first time in recorded history, and it was reported that the city of Candeleda near Madrid in Spain recorded 45 degrees Celsius, and Pinhao and Lousa in Portugal recorded 47 degrees Celsius. In France, wildfires were caused by heatwaves, and in China, there were many observation points that recorded temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.
I would like to leave it to the experts to judge whether the cause of such abnormal weather is related to global warming, but as countermeasures against these high temperatures and the heat island phenomenon, the industrial world is promoting the commercialization of products to address the issues, and the heat-blocking pavement is one representative example.
Especially in urban areas and densely populated areas, the amount of car traffic (exhaust heat from cars) and the use of air conditioners (exhaust heat from air conditioners) are overwhelmingly higher than in depopulated areas, and greenery and waterfront areas are usually very limited. For these reasons, the temperature in those areas tends to be higher than in the suburbs.
Of course, due to geographical conditions, there are many places with high temperatures, even in the suburbs. However, lowering temperatures in areas that have large numbers of residents and workers is a direct countermeasure against the heat island effect. This is the reason why heat-blocking pavement is attracting attention.
Some manufacturers compared the road surface temperatures between the surfaces coated with heat-blocking coating for pavement and surfaces that are not coated during the daytime, and claim that the surface temperature can be reduced by about 10 degrees Celsius.
The heat island phenomenon occurs when the heat accumulated on the road surface is released at night, which prevents the temperature from dropping even in the morning. Thus, preventing heat accumulation and reducing heat release at night is a very effective means of solving the heat island phenomenon.
The main function of heat-blocking pavement is to reflect the heat of the sun instead of absorbing it. There are various methods, such as applying heat-insulating resin to the existing pavement surface or filling it with heat-insulating mortar.
In addition, there are pavements and coating materials that have multiple functions, such as products using methods to increase both water retention and heat-blocking properties, and the use of colorings to call attention to prevent accidents. Manufacturers are competing to develop heat-blocking pavement, and they are also focusing on strengthening their competitiveness.
Artificial solar lighting with an EF filter is being used for the evaluation of the performance of heat-blocking pavement to check how well it can block heat.
The XG-500EFSS super spotlight lighting type is used because the light of the artificial solar lighting needs to be irradiated as uniformly as possible for evaluation.
In a temperature-controlled room, the light of artificial solar lighting is continuously applied to the test object, and the surface temperature of the product is continuously measured for a long time to evaluate performance.
※”XC-500ESS” is the brand name in the Japanese market, and the product’s performance is the same as “XG-500ESS.”
In Japan, at the Japan Road Association (Japan’s largest conference for presenting research results and exchanging opinions on a wide range of road-related issues, presided over by the Japan Road Association), the evaluation method of heat-blocking pavement using artificial solar lighting was examined, and the result was reported.
Artificial solar lighting has been highly evaluated as a light source for performance tests of heat-blocking pavement, and has contributed to the development of heat-blocking pavement as a recommended model by the industry.
Please refer to the pages below for the specifications and performance of our artificial solar lighting.
If you want to conduct performance evaluation tests of heat-blocking pavement in a stable environment, please feel free to contact our highly experienced team. We will propose equipment that meets your needs.
・Artificial solar lighting XELIOS-500W series
・Artificial solar lighting focused type (super spotlight lighting type) that can irradiate 1 sun (1000 W/m2) or 100000 Lx （Japanese Website）
