BASC Search | Building America Solution Center

In hot climate zones, shade building surface with vegetation for passive cooling.

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Landscape trees and shrubs to funnel cooling breeze towards a home in hot climate zones.

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The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map can be a valuable reference in determining appropriate landscape plants for your climate .

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Example of an earth-sheltered home in hot climate Tempe, AZ uses the cooling properties of the ground to decrease cooling costs

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Cool Neighborhoods: The Measurement of Small Scale Heat Islands

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Paper describing the effects of tree canopies on residential climates indicating tree cover to be beneficial to climate conditions

Wildfire Operations: Wildfire Science

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Website describing how wildfires spread and how fuels, weather, and topography influence fires.

Embodied Carbon 101

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Webpage describing embodied carbon through definition, significance to climate, and importance to policymaking.

Maintain Defensible Space

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A webpage outlining CAL FIRE’s recommendations for creating defensible space.

How to Create a Naturally Cool Building

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Article from The Earthbound Report on passive cooling design strategies for homes located in hot climates.

Studies in the Assessment of Vegetation Impact in the Urban Context

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Paper describing case studies on urban vegetation and greenways and their impacts on city climate and building performance.

Proper building orientation for minimal heat gain in the northern hemisphere.

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A Methodology for Calculating Cooling from Vegetation Evapotranspiration for use in Urban Space Microclimate Simulations

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Paper describing a proposed method for quantifying tree and vegetation evapotranspiration effects on city climate

Where Your Front Door Meets the Forest

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Webpage describing the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) and how to plan residential building to mitigate wildfire risks associated with building in the WUI.

Use this simple calculation to size overhangs above south facing windows.

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Do we live in Hades? Southern California housing is built for survival in fires

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Article describing risks of living in wildfire-prone areas of southern California and ways to reduce risks to homes and communities.

NFPA 1142 – Standard on Water Supplies for Suburban and Rural Fire Fighting

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An NFPA Standard that identifies a method for determining the minimum water supply necessary for structural fire-fighting purposes in areas where it has been determined that there is no water or inadequate water for fire fighting.