In cities, parking structures provide shade and cool down asphalt and concrete, reducing heat overall.
In areas like parking lots, where there is a lot of asphalt or pavement, the surface acts like a battery, absorbing and then emitting stored solar energy. This causes the heat island effect, which is why urban hot spots can be up to 18°C (32°F) hotter than greener spaces.
With parking structures, solar energy can’t reach all of a parking lot or pavement, so those protected areas can’t absorb as much energy and re-release it.
How Can Parking Infrastructure Help Improve Health?
Parking infrastructure can provide shade that can protect people from sun exposure, heat, and related risks. It can:
- Reduce skin health risks: Someone with fair skin and no sunscreen can burn in just 5-10 minutes. Shade can protect employees and visitors from UV rays, which can increase the risk of sunburn and skin cancer.
- Help decrease smog: By reducing heat radiating from hot asphalt and pavement, parking infrastructure can also reduce the chemical reactions that cause smog. Cooler, shaded pavements are less likely to create these reactions.
- Reduce health risks: High heat can lead to heatstroke and worsen heart conditions, asthma, diabetes, and mental health. Shade can lower temperatures by up to 15-20 degrees. It can also help prevent eye damage caused by sun exposure.
How Can Parking Infrastructure Protect Your Business from Heat?
Vehicle protection structures can protect cars and other assets from sun damage. Heat can damage cars at dealerships, repair shops, and rental businesses, causing fuel to evaporate, tires to degrade, vinyl to crack, and car parts to be damaged. It can cause electronic systems to fail. UV exposure can fade interiors and cause exterior paint to dull and peel.
Covered parking structures reduce all these risks by keeping cars in the shade.
What Types of Parking Structures from VPS Help Reduce Heat in Urban Spaces?
VPS offers structures that place a physical barrier between solar radiation and cars, keeping cars and people safer from the sun:
- Cantilevers for heat and UV protection.
- Covered walkways to protect people moving between parking areas and buildings.
- Mass coverage solutions that cover more of a parking area to maximize shade and minimize solar energy absorption.
- Solar vehicle protection structures harness the sun’s energy to generate electricity.
As a leading provider of car protection structures, we can make structures that cover thousands of parking spaces.
Contact VPS To Protect Help Property and People
Reduce the harm sun damage can have on your business and the people around it. Contact VPS to speak with a representative about custom solutions for your company’s property.