Can Our Landscaping Help Cool the Down the Planet?

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Can our landscaping help cool the down the planet?

Objective:

I want to learn which common landscaping materials cool down the area the most.  I know that global warming is a huge problem and I want to discover if there is anything we can do to cool down the planet with our own landscaping.  

Materials:

Container or box

Timer

Heat lamp

Infrared thermometer

Water

Grass

Bark/Mulch

Brick

Gravel

Soil

Procedure:

Test the temperature of 6 common landscaping materials: soil, water, grass, mulch, brick and gravel.  

1. Prepare a container/box for each landscaping material.
2. Put the landscaping material in the container/box.
3. Attach a heat lamp to each container/box.
4. With an infrared thermometer measure the initial temperature of each landscaping material.
5. Turn on heat lamps.
6. Set timer for 30 minutes.
7. With an infrared thermometer measure the temperatures of each landscaping material after being under the heat lamp for 30 minutes.
8. Record results.
9. Set timer for 30 minutes.
10. With an infrared thermometer measure the temperatures of each landscaping material after 30 minutes of cooling.
11. Record results.
12. Repeat 5 times recording results.
13. Analyze data.

Conclusion:

My prediction was incorrect.  Water actually cooled down the slowest.  My data reflects that of all the landscape materials water and grass cool down the area the most because they did not get as hot under the heat lamp.  Mulch and soil got the hottest and cooled down the fastest at almost the same rate. Brick was the third hottest landscape material.  Gravel was the fourth hottest landscape material.  Gravel and brick cooled down at nearly the same rate.  

Application:

This project is beneficial to everyone. The results show which landscaping materials stay the coolest.  By being informed and using landscaping that stays cool we help reduce the temperatures around us.  This makes us more comfortable when we are enjoying our yard and helps reduce the temperature of the earth. Saving the environment should be on everyone’s priority list so do your part and think about your landscaping choices!

Variables:

The controlled variable is the time each landscaping material is under the heat lamp and the time it wasn’t under the heat lamp to cool off. The dependent variables are the temperature and the speed of each landscaping material as they cooled. The independent variable is the switching of the six different landscaping materials.