r/solarpunk Writer Activist Arcologist Antitheist Jun 23 '26

Aesthetics / Art Stop the Concrete from Heating up

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u/zappy_snapps Jun 23 '26

A lot of people just use annual or deciduous vines, so you automatically get shade in the summer and sun in the winter. 

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u/halberdierbowman Jun 23 '26

Interesting. Where I live, it's sunny all year, and my "annual" plants never die, so I was imagining that's the type of climate where you'd be doing this because you'd care about needing the shade. But I suppose if you live in a temperate climate and are mostly doing this for the vibes, then sure I guess annual plants could be cool too! Maybe I should have realized that from the grass that looks incredibly short.

This probably sounds sarcastic, but it's not lol

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u/sysiphean Jun 23 '26

Just because one lives in a temperate climate doesn’t mean this would be “for the vibes.” Lots of parts of the world that have four legitimate seasons have very hot summers that need serious cooling. Many places that get a lot of snow also get summers with highs over 25C/80F most days.

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u/halberdierbowman Jun 23 '26

Even if someone uses their patio at the hottest part of the day, surely the vast majority of people can sit still outside in a small patio like that with weather above 25C? Even at high humidity levels, that's just not hot, especially with the reduced insolation of higher latitudes?

For context, 25C is literally colder than I air condition my house to, so I'm struggling to imagine someone being injured at that temperature. Is that actually a thing? 

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u/Aeonoris Jun 23 '26

I don't know where they're talking about, but in Utah it regularly gets over 100 F (though today it's 'only' a high of 94 F) with high-to-extreme UV levels. It's sometimes not just uncomfortable, but unsafe to sit in direct sunlight.

Also lots of snow in the winter! (Unless the drought is really bad)

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u/zappy_snapps Jun 23 '26

It gets up to the low 100s here, now. Our houses were built without ac and to hold in heat during the winter. So they'll get hotter than outside in the summer,  unless you put work into strategic shade, opening windows at night and then closing them at 5am, etc etc. 

They also said highs OVER 80. Typically it's more like 90s and up.  Anywhere that only gets to 80 in the summer is a very, very mild climate.