Elevated temperatures in urban 'heat islands' increase cooling energy use and accelerate the formation of urban smog. Urban shade _trees and light-colored surfaces can offset or reverse the heat island and conceive energy. Implementation of heat island mitigation measures is now a prominent part of President Clinton's Climate Change Action Plan to control the emissions of greenhouse gases, necessitating a better understanding of the quantitative benefits of these control measures.

A significant amount of the electrical energy used to cool non-residential buildings equipped with all-air systems is drawn by the fans that transport the cool air through the thermal distribution system. Hydronic systems reduce the amount of air transported through the building by separating the tasks of ventilation and thermal conditioning. Due to the physical properties of water, hydronic systems can transport a given amount of thermal energy and use less than 5% of the otherwise necessary fan energy.