Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Light vs Dark Colored Cars and Coolness
Old 06-27-2013, 07:31 PM   #1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
easysurfer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 13,130
Light vs Dark Colored Cars and Coolness

Are light colored cars really cooler than dark colored ones?

I'm talking about temperature coolness and not style

I've only owned dark ones (a dark blue one in past, and now a dark green one).

Hoping those would personal experience can shed some insight. Thx.
__________________
Have you ever seen a headstone with these words
"If only I had spent more time at work" ... from "Busy Man" sung by Billy Ray Cyrus
easysurfer is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 06-27-2013, 08:00 PM   #2
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 969
I have owned both. And, I am not sure dark cars get hotter; but, it seems that they do get hot faster. This has been most noticeable for me, at least in my mind, on hot summer mid afternoon shopping trips: Dark interior with dark paint seems to get unbearable faster.

You asked for personal experience; so, there you have it. Just remember that you are getting the results of my flawed memory combined with my perception.
__________________
If there's one thing in my life that's missing; It's the time I spend alone
Sailing on the cool and bright clear waters; There's lots of those friendly people
Showin me ways to go; And I never want to lose your inspiration
CoolChange is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2013, 08:55 PM   #3
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
Based on an experiment with two (2) cars (one light, one dark) it appears that the light car stayed cooler.

Silver and white cars are cooler, says study

However, I would like to see a greater N.
Meadbh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2013, 10:38 PM   #4
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
easysurfer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 13,130
For me, even in my darkered colored cars, as long as I use a reflective sun shade and crack the windows, when I step inside, the car is bearable. Without one, inside is like an oven.

I never really thought much about color of a car in this way before, so it interesting.
__________________
Have you ever seen a headstone with these words
"If only I had spent more time at work" ... from "Busy Man" sung by Billy Ray Cyrus
easysurfer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2013, 11:05 PM   #5
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Telly's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,395
Big difference. There is a reason that the pickup color of TX is white!

Years ago I conducted a simple test in a dealer's lot. A row of pickups, same model, all parked the same way baking in a late-spring sun. I put my hand on each hood in the same spot on each.
White - Warm, but could keep my hand on it forever if need be.
Beige - Pretty warm, after some seconds was starting to feel pretty hot, had to pull off.
Dark Red - Hot immediately, could not hold my hand on it for more than a couple seconds
Black - I could feel the heat before I touched it. Wow! I touched it real quick - psssst! Smell bacon?

Reinforced my color choice! My darker truck that I bought used is always hotter inside than my white one. Both have tinted glass, with front seat windows tinted darker aftermarket to the state limit to further reduce interior heat gain. The white one is always cooler. Have seen the same thing in cars.
__________________
-- Telly, the D-I-Y guy --
Two fools dancing on the hands of time
Telly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 05:10 AM   #6
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 2,983
Being forced to drive a black company vehicle after years of white and silver I can safely say the black is much hotter. Also a real pain in the neck to keep clean.
__________________
Took SS at 62 and hope I live long enough to regret the decision.
foxfirev5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 05:44 AM   #7
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
RunningBum's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 13,202
Yes, lighter car, lighter interior, tinted windows, sun shield, and a rain guard so you can crack windows all make a car less hot. I think the sun shield makes the biggest difference.
RunningBum is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 06:29 AM   #8
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,796
Agree 100% that interior color also makes a big difference. My 2 vehicles' interiors are black & light beige. The light interior is always cooler when left in summer sun. The black will burn your thighs if wearing shorts
ERhoosier is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 07:00 AM   #9
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Naples
Posts: 2,179
Way back in the late 70's, there were six of us at mega corp that drove Cadillac's. We could drive them for a year and sell the cars for what we paid for them. One the six had a friend in Texas that had five friends that bought those cars every year. They wanted those cars loaded but no dark colors especially black. Hence, they were always white, silver, light blue, beige. Once I even had a yellow Caddy. Way back then, everyone in Texas knew they didn't want black cars.
JOHNNIE36 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 01:37 PM   #10
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
martyb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Bossier City
Posts: 2,183
I've owned 2 black cars with black interiors, 2 white cars & 1 white truck with lighter color interiors, and multiple cars & trucks in-between with various color combos. My strong opinion is that black & darker colored vehicles do seem hotter. I will concede though that it might be as mentioned previously, that the darker onces just heat up faster. All I know is that after many years of many vehicles, I don't buy black ones anymore primarily for this (perceived) reason.
martyb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 01:54 PM   #11
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
FinanceDude's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,483
White reflects, black absorbs.........
__________________
Consult with your own advisor or representative. My thoughts should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results (love that one).......:)


This Thread is USELESS without pics.........:)
FinanceDude is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 02:13 PM   #12
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Badger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 3,395
What everyone else said.

Cheers!
Badger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 02:18 PM   #13
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
veremchuka's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: irradiated - too close to the nuclear furnace
Posts: 1,294
^ That.

When I was in Florida 20 years ago I was surprised at the very high percentage of white cars vs up here. I could only figure that the color was in response to the heat there. Many here confirm that.
veremchuka is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 02:21 PM   #14
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
REWahoo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,004
Quote:
Originally Posted by veremchuka View Post
When I was in Florida 20 years ago I was surprised at the very high percentage of white cars vs up here. I could only figure that the color was in response to the heat there. Many here confirm that.
The vast majority of the many thousands of pickup trucks owned by oil companies in TX are white - and it isn't because white paint is less costly or stays cleaner...
__________________
Numbers is hard
REWahoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 02:35 PM   #15
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 26,821
Quote:
Originally Posted by FinanceDude View Post
White reflects, black absorbs.........
Right. It's hard for me to believe anyone is actually questioning this.

Now, the magnitude of this - that's a little harder to say, and is easiest to do by measuring. That study linked appeared to only have the outside color different between the two, not the interior. I would expect the interior to have a significant effect, as you have a greenhouse effect with the windows closed. That extra heat will be trapped inside.

It was interesting that they estimated this to be a 2% gain in mpg. That's probably a bigger reduction in gasoline consumption than all the EVs that will be on the road in the next few years (I just couldn't let that one go by ).


Quote:
Originally Posted by martyb View Post
... My strong opinion is that black & darker colored vehicles do seem hotter. I will concede though that it might be as mentioned previously, that the darker ones just heat up faster. ...
It doesn't work that way. The black colors will heat up faster, and also stabilize at a higher temperature. You can't have one w/o the other, under a steady-state condition. They are tied together. More energy absorbed will do both.

-ERD50
ERD50 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 03:06 PM   #16
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Nemo2's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 8,368
Most of the vehicles in Saudi, (when I was there), were white.
__________________
"Exit, pursued by a bear."

The Winter's Tale, William Shakespeare
Nemo2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 04:25 PM   #17
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 9,358
I just saw a cute segment on the weather channel where they put all sorts of different colored crayons out in the sun on a hot day from light to dark pigments on a white sheet of paper. Only the darker colors melted and dripped down the paper.
daylatedollarshort is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 06:39 PM   #18
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Chuckanut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: West of the Mississippi
Posts: 17,171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nemo2 View Post
Most of the vehicles in Saudi, (when I was there), were white.
And some come with chauffeurs who start the AC 15 minutes before you arrive So the car is cool enough to sit in.
__________________
Comparison is the thief of joy

The worst decisions are usually made in times of anger and impatience.
Chuckanut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 07:38 PM   #19
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
photoguy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,301
Quote:
Originally Posted by ERD50 View Post
Right. It's hard for me to believe anyone is actually questioning this.
Before seeing the numbers people quoted, I would have guessed that the greenhouse effect/interior color dominated and that the exterior paint color would only have a minor effect.
photoguy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 09:59 PM   #20
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 331
My best friend has a Black/Black MB 600 that is darkly tinted (I am sure past the legal limit) and is supposed to have special thermal windows all around that keep the heat out. Let me tell you that in the heat of summer that car is an OVEN!! You get in it and it is hard to breathe. I wouldn't have the damn car to drive for myself if you gave it to me.... I am all about white/beige cars. It does make a really big difference.
JustMeUC is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:37 PM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.