Why is Grass Cooler than Concrete?

Ever wonder why it is cooler in the province than in the city? Grass is our friend in cooling the surroundings. Concrete has this characteristic called “thermal mass” that makes the surroundings hot.

Reflectance
The heat coming from the sun can bounce from a surface. This is called the “solar reflectance,” the ability of a surface to reflect that solar heat back to the surroundings.
 
Concrete has higher solar reflectance than grass. When solar heat hits the surface of a concrete pavement, more heat is reflected back and the hotter the surroundings will be. Grass, on the other hand, has lower solar reflectance. Less heat is reflected and the cooler your surroundings will be.
 
Photosynthesis
Grass eats heat, literally. Through photosynthesis, the grass absorbs the heat coming from the sun and converts it into chemical energy that is needed for it to live. As a waste product, the grass releases oxygen to the environment that is needed for us and other animals to survive. It’s the beautiful cycle of life.
 
Not to mention, grass also eats carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which is the main cause of global warming.
 
Visual
Grass is visually cooling our minds and our hearts. For tens of thousands of years, human beings have been seeing green all around them. Green has always been the color of our home in past. However, until recently, we have seen less of this green around us. All we see now are buildings and roads, and we miss the feeling of being at-home with green surrounding our lives.
 
Whenever we see green, our mood is enhanced and we feel more energy in our blood, according to studies. This is why grass is visually cooling our minds and our hearts.
 
Thermal Mass
Concrete has this characteristic called “thermal mass” where, during hot days it absorbs and stores the heat inside its body, and during the time when it is cooler it releases it to the surroundings. This is why you feel hot during night time when there is no sun. This is because the concrete in your house is releasing the heat that it absorbed in the morning. Grass, on the other hand, has virtually zero thermal mass.
 
Heat Island Effect
Concrete is the main cause of heat island effect. This phenomenon is the reason why it is cooler in the province than in the city, and it has been scientifically proven. There are plenty of reasons why this is happening. First, there are more human activities in cities than in provinces. Second, there are much more pollution and carbon dioxide in cities. And third, grass is cooler than concrete.
 
Nature-Friendly
Planting grass in your backyard is the simplest way that you can do to help climate change. It will benefit you because your house will be cooler compared to using concrete and it will give you a cooler feel. It will also benefit the environment as grass can help reduce carbon dioxide, lower the global warming, and produce oxygen that we all need in our lives.
 
BluHomes™ is inspired to help the world by providing homes that are beautiful, nature-friendly and inspiring. In its first project called BluHomes Breeze, a townhouse development in Amparo Caloocan, the front yard is already provided with grass for the homeowners to enjoy and benefit from. The sidewalk in the development is made up of perforated paver blocks with grass, so it is not plainly concrete. This is why BluHomes™ is cool.