Cooling Toolkit for Extreme Heat
To help meet the critical need for resources and tools for communities to ensure the safety of their most vulnerable residents, we’ve developed a toolkit from the Cal-THRIVES project to help communities better cope with extreme heat (A California Toolkit for Heat Resilience in Underserved Environments). Toolkit items and their intended audiences include the following:
- Community cooling tips (For community residents)
- Fact sheets on passive and active cooling measures (For DIY-enthusiasts, NGOs, program administrators)
- Software tools (For extreme heat resilience program developers, engineers, researchers)
- Modeling summaries for building measures and outdoor measures (For extreme heat resilience program developers, engineers, researchers)
- Policy and program recommendations (For state, regional, and local policymakers)
One-page and pocket community guides detailing tips for staying cool in the heat are available for download in English and Spanish.
"Tips to Stay Cool in the Heat" Community Guide
- Download in English (.pdf)
- Download in Spanish (.pdf)
Community Cooling Pocket Guide
- Download in English (.pdf)
- Download in Spanish (.pdf)
The toolkit offers a collection of fact sheets about passive and active cooling measures, ideal for use with more specialized audiences like DIY-enthusiasts, NGOs and program administrators.
Cooling Topic Fact Sheets
- Air Conditioning (.pdf)
- Cool Walls (.pdf)
- Cooling with Trees (.pdf)
- Window Films (Forthcoming)
Modeling summaries for building and outdoor measures are available for extreme heat resilience program developers, engineers, and researchers.
Modeling Summary Matrices
For extreme heat resilience program developers, engineers, and researchers, software tools are available to assist with neighborhood-scale building modeling.
CityBES
CityBES is an open tool for neighborhood- to urban-scale building modeling, which can model energy savings for one building or a group of buildings. Both passive and active indoor measures are modeled.
- Learn more about CityBES and watch tutorial videos.
- Access the CityBES tool online
Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI)
A Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI) modeling tool for Fresco is available online.
For state, regional, and local policymakers, the toolkit offers policy and program recommendations.
- UCCS Extreme Heat Webinar (.pdf)
This toolkit was developed as part of the Cal-THRIVES project funded by the California Strategic Growth Council.