How hot it can get in summer?

Answer 1

I just took my infrared thermometer outside to take a reading on the asphalt. The outdoor temp at 7:30 pm was 89 degrees. The asphalt (lighter in color) was 116 degrees. I was curious about the asphalt because my husband and I went on a ride to Andersonville, GA with Harley Davidson-Newnan and the temps were 106 degrees that day. We drove into patches that we estimated @ 125 degrees (personally, I think it was hotter). I really wish I had my gun with me. I actually started feeling sick and had to drink gatoraid and water and stop every 30 minutes to cool down in Air Conditioning.

The General Thermometer cost about 39.00 @ Lowes and it is priceless as I am a LEED AP and talk about Home Comfort Testing and the need for weatherization in my work. Being able to show the actual temps of, for example, light bulbs, drives home the point of using LED lights. For example: Regular light bulbs read 100 degrees and chandelier bulbs (all on all day) read 212 degrees. It still blows my mind. Fun tool. Every teacher (parents qualify) and every Realtor, Builder, and Home Owner should own one.

Suzanne Seitz, LEED AP

Green Design Works, LLC

www.DIYGal.com/wordpress

Answer 2

Asphalt is generally black or a dark color and usually has very little to shade it. Since it is a dark color, it will absorb and retain the heat from the sun, making it much warmer than the surrounding air temperature.

Answer 3

Asphalt, especially when it is fairly new, is almost solid black in color. Black absorbs almost all the light that hits it and converts that light energy to heat energy. Therefore, the surface can get quite hot.

Answer 4

Because heat is transferred from the sun by it's rays to the pavement, heating it.

Answer 5

It depends on where you are, it gets hottest closer to the equator.