Minimize Heat Island Effect on Roof

Ben Franklin TechVentures² was designed and constructed using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating System. This standard promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and operation. To address LEED’s heat island measure, TechVentures² has a high-reflectance roof that keeps the building cooler in summer and helps minimize “heat island effect,” an undesirable micro-climate condition that occurs when the heat from the sun is retained on absorptive surfaces. Heat island effect causes ambient temperatures to be artificially elevated. Heat islands are not only uncomfortable to humans, but are also detrimental to site habitat, wildlife, and migration corridors because plants and animals are sensitive to temperature and may be harmed when temperatures are unnaturally elevated.