The use of plants for passive cooling, particularly in temperate humid climates, affords an opportunity to reduce air-conditioning in small structures.
Plants for Passive Cooling surveys the literature, identifies a range of design strategies for reducing the surface and interior temperature of buildings through the use of plants, demonstrates their application in building and landscape features, identifies key building and site design issues, and identifies a palette of selected plant species that are suitable for passive cooling in the temperate Eastern United States.
The research was produced under contract with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy. I was principal investigator and co-authored the report with Adele Naude Santos.