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Are black cars hotter in side than white cars when left in the sun?

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raccoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 07:47 AM
Original message
Are black cars hotter in side than white cars when left in the sun?

I have a relative who has a black car and is thinking of getting it painted for this reason.

Your experience?
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southpaw Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 07:50 AM
Response to Original message
1. From my experience: yes.
But I think the black vinyl seats were more to blame than the exterior color, in the car I'm thinking of.
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HopeHoops Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 07:51 AM
Response to Original message
2. Outside color is meaningless. The SEAT color is what matters!
This is especially true with vinyl. Dark colors (especially maroon for some reason) get VERY hot. Light colors don't.
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kath Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 07:23 PM
Response to Reply #2
15. No - the outside color of the car matters quite a lot - more heat will be absorbed by a
black car.
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Inchworm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 07:55 AM
Response to Original message
3. Is this a trick question?
;)

:hi:
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raccoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 07:56 AM
Response to Reply #3
4. Nope.
:hi:

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La Lioness Priyanka Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 08:12 AM
Response to Original message
5. yes. black absorbs heat, white reflects it.
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surrealAmerican Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 08:22 AM
Response to Original message
6. You should do an experiment.
Park a black car and a white car of the same model next to each other in the sun for a few hours. Leave thermometers in each.
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raccoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 08:29 AM
Response to Reply #6
7. Great idea, if I had the two cars! nt
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Mugu Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 08:58 AM
Response to Reply #7
11. Thankfully, Mythbusters already did this experiment so you don't have to. n/t
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Bertha Venation Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 09:08 AM
Response to Reply #11
13. What was the result?
I missed that episode.
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raccoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 09:37 AM
Response to Reply #13
14. They said it does.
Myth statement

A black car heats up faster than an identical white car. (Spinoff of Biscuit Bazooka)

Status

Confirmed

Notes

A fan wrote in and asked a follow up question: "Does the color of a car affect the way it heats up?". The MythBusters used two identical cars, one black the other white and left them both out in the summer heat with thermometers in both. By mid-afternoon the white car had a temperature of 126 °F (52.2 °C), while the black car had heated up to a temperature of 135 °F (57.2 °C), about 9 degrees hotter in the Fahrenheit scale. The explanation was that black paint absorbs the heat while white paint deflects it.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_(season_3)
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Deep13 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 08:31 AM
Response to Original message
8. slightly nt
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grace0418 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 08:47 AM
Response to Original message
9. Yes, but like others' said it's also influenced by the seats. We had a black
Honda Accord with tan seats. It would get ridiculously hot in there but my friend's black car with dark gray seats got even hotter.
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Left Is Write Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 08:52 AM
Response to Original message
10. Black cars look better in the shade.
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Kali Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 09:06 AM
Response to Original message
12. hell yes especially around the roof-ceiling/head area
I have credibility here. Live in Arizona, have had various light and dark vehicles. But I'll tell you something that REALLY makes a difference - window tinting. Had a white ford ranger that had clear windows - it was hotter than the black nissan with darkly tinted glass.
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azmouse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 07:27 PM
Response to Original message
16. Here in the desert it's so frickin' hot anyway color doesn't matter!
Tint the windows. That makes a big difference.
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struggle4progress Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-01-09 07:47 PM
Response to Original message
17. I think that in the sun on a hot day, a darker car will get hot faster but over time a lighter car
will eventually get to the same temperature
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