Beat the heat

Cool and pretty: These white tiles make for aesthetics too.

To understand it best, take a barefoot walk on this roof at 2 p.m. when the sun is at its fiercest best.

As you stroll around, place your palm on the granite topped, short pillar. Your hands encounter burning heat. As for your feet, they feel no heat, as it would be inside the house. The secret: V. Venkatakrishnan has laid the terrace of his house with heat resistant tiles. At Rs. 50 per square foot, it sounds like an expensive proportion, but as the tiles neither retain heat nor allow heat to sink through them, the dwelling directly beneath the terrace (which is normally a stiflingly hot living space), feels quite cool, and the room temperature here is at least 8 degree Celsius less than the ambient temperature. There is no sensation of radiation inside this living space. This means that you could save up to 40 per cent of your air conditioning charges or perhaps do away with air conditioners altogether.

The tiles are constituted with cement and materials with infrared resistive properties. The white colour of these tiles makes for sophisticated aesthetics too.

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