Invisible Structures Sustainable building and site development Green buiiding and sustainable design
Portable ADA Boardwalk System Drainage/Conveyance Layer Grass Porous/Permeable/Pervious Paver Gravel Porous/Permeable/Pervious Paving Subsurface Stormwater Storage Permanent Erosion Control
Design Detail/Technical Specifications Greenbuilding LEED Points Total Stormwater Management Sales and Support Frequently Asked Questions Project Profiles/Case Studies About Invisible Structure Inc.
GreenBuilding1
LEED Impact
Pollution Removal
Download Brochure
Heat Island Mitigation
ADA Accessibility
Recycling
Fresh Water Resources
GreenBuilding6 - enviornmental benefits

This chart compares the temperatures below vehicles on different Porous Paving Types. Only Grasspave2 and Gravelpave2 measured below the ambient outside temperature - They are the "Best in Class." Click to view larger graph. Test was conducted by Sasaki Design Firm.


Heat Island Mitigation
View our Heat Island Mitigation White Paper (pdf)
Product
Albedo Number**
New Asphalt
.04
Aged Asphalt
.12
Grasspave2*
.40
Draincore2*
(Green Roof)
.40
Slopetame2*
.40
Gravelpave2
(Light Aggregate)
.16
Grass has an effective albedo of 0.4, including a reflectance of 0.25 + 0.15 "effective reflectance" to account for evapotranspiration of well-watered grass. **Larger is better


View Our Heat Island White Paper (pdf).

 

Urban Heat Island Mitigation

What is Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI)?
The UHI occurs when urban or developed land is hotter than surrounding rural and undeveloped land. Sunlight energy is absorbed by rooftops, pavements, structures, and other surfaces and then converted and released as heat energy into the air. Since the spacing of man-made structures is much more dense in urban areas, more heat is released causing the outside temperature in a city to be sometimes 6-8 degrees (F) hotter than rural areas.

Invisible Structures' Product Line can help mitigate the effects of Urban Heat Island (UHI).
Cool pavements, more trees, green roofs, and unique development options make ISI's product line a perfect choice to help fight UHI in you site plans. Grasspave2 and Gravelpave2 address many components of Urban Heat Island mitigation including: thermal conductivity, heat storage capacity, density, albedo (see chart to right), and emissivity. Grasspave2 has the added component of "air-conditioning effect."

  • Cool Pavements - Grasspave2 and Gravelpave2 are some of the coolest pavements available. See the Sasaki Chart
  • More Trees, Vegetation and Green Space - Grasspave2, Gravelpave2, Slopetame2 and Rainstore3 can help achieve these goals.
  • Green Roofs – Draincore2 is a great solution for green roof drainage. Click here for more green roof information.


Gravel surfaces can substantially cool down faster at night time than
adjacent dense pavements as seen through this thermographic image.
– images reprinted with permission from The National Center of Excellence on SMART Innovations for Urban Climate and Energy (www.asuSMART.org), Arizona State University.

"Thermography and visible light photographs show gravel and grass
surfaces can be cooler than dense paved surfaces" – images reprinted with permission from The National Center of Excellence on SMART Innovations for Urban Climate and Energy (www.asuSMART.org), Arizona State University.