Long-term demonstration
A visible, permanent example of reflective rooftop cooling on a working school block in Dar es Salaam.
[ Project · Tanzania ]
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
A long-term demonstration of durable, passive cooling — reflective rooftops on a Dar es Salaam school block, now in their third year of tropical exposure.
[ Project overview ]
From an active installation to a long-term durability reference.
In Dar es Salaam, reflective rooftop materials installed by MEER around two years ago continue to perform well under real-world tropical conditions. The installation phase is complete, and the site now serves as a long-term demonstration and durability reference for passive surface cooling — the kind of multi-year evidence needed to move technologies from pilot to deployment at scale.
~2 yrs
Continuous exposure
since installation
Classroom
Full-block coverage
reflective sheeting
Tropical
Real-world climate
high humidity + UV
Reference
Long-term site
durability benchmark
[ The installation ]
Reflective sheeting fitted over rusted corrugated iron.
Working at Kijichi Secondary School, the MEER team fitted reflective aluminium sheeting across full classroom blocks, laying panels over existing rusted corrugated iron roofs.
Each panel was prepared outside the classroom, then lifted onto the roof, aligned to the ridge and secured along the roof edge — a scalable installation method suitable for schools, community buildings and homes.
The moment reflective sheeting is laid across a rusted metal roof is often the moment indoor temperatures start to fall.
“Two years on, the reflective aluminium remains in good physical condition — real-world evidence that passive cooling can last.”
[ Current focus ]
What the Tanzania site does today.
The Tanzania project is no longer an active installation or data-collection site. It now works as a long-term evidence generator for surface cooling.
Durability reference
A stable, multi-year exposure record for how reflective aluminium materials behave under real tropical conditions.
Materials validation
Evidence that reflective aluminium sheeting can maintain its optical and structural performance with minimal maintenance over years.
Periodic evaluation
Working with local partners to periodically assess how the installed materials continue to perform.
Passive cooling case study
A concrete reference point when new schools, homes or community buildings consider reflective rooftop cooling.
Local partnership
Ongoing relationships with the school and local partners who host and steward the demonstration site.
[ The installation ]
A completed ridge, spanning a full school block.
Panels were fastened along the roof edge for long-term durability, forming continuous reflective surfaces across the length of each classroom block.
The installation method — non-penetrative where possible, aligned to the existing roof geometry — was designed to survive years of tropical exposure without maintenance-heavy interventions.
Long-term reference sites like Tanzania are essential for building confidence in passive cooling at scale.
[ What this proves ]
Reflective cooling that lasts, not a short-lived pilot.
The Dar es Salaam demonstration shows that reflective aluminium-based materials can maintain optical and structural performance across years of tropical exposure — a key requirement for large-scale deployment across schools, homes and community buildings in East Africa and beyond.
[ Project gallery ]
Photographs from the field
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Learn how MEER's long-term evidence supports wider deployment.
The Tanzania demonstration underpins the case for scaling reflective cooling across schools and homes across the tropics.
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