ARB Research Seminar
This page updated June 19, 2013
Effects of Cool Roofs and Solar Panels on a Large Scale
Dev Millstein, Ph.D., Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
October 11, 2011
Cal EPA Headquarters, 1001 "I" Street, Sacramento, CA
This presentation will discuss how modification to the surface albedo through the deployment of cool roofs and pavements (reflective materials) and photovoltaic arrays (low reflection) have the potential to change radiative forcing, surface temperature, and regional weather patterns. In this work the researchers investigated the regional climate and radiative effects of modifying surface albedo to mimic massive deployment of cool surfaces (roofs and pavements) and, separately, photovoltaic arrays across the United States. The researchers used a fully coupled regional climate model, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, to investigate feedbacks between surface albedo changes, surface temperature, precipitation and average cloud cover.
Dev Millstein, Ph.D., is currently a post-doctoral fellow at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, studies interactions between energy policy, regional climate and air quality. He received a Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2009, where his research focused on diesel emissions control and air quality implications. Dr. Millstein was born and raised in California and studied economics as an undergraduate at Vassar College.