Cooling reliability toolkits for US cities

Heat waves are increasingly frequent, intense, and longer in duration across the US, and they represent a growing public health threat. LBNL has developed cooling reliability toolkits for cities in the US for local and regional stakeholders below with the following objectives: 

• Increase awareness of heat-related vulnerability
• Identify areas that are most vulnerable to extreme heat events
• Remedy the built environment, such as building retrofits & increases to tree canopy
• Enhance home cooling programs

Our research and cooling reliability recommendations incorporate both stakeholder inputs and science:

• Stakeholder Engagement
• Neighborhood-scale building modeling
• Opportunities for greater cooling reliability (community cooling centers, microgrids, and cool rooms)

We have generated cooling reliability toolkits and related technical guidance for a variety of summer climates across the U.S.

Fresno, CA [hot dry]                      Boston, MA [hot humid] 

Oakland, CA [warm dry]          Atlanta, GA [hot humid subtropical]