To select a darker color or NOT...for the sake of interior temperature???
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At night exterior colors don't matter. 
Put your hand on a white car and a black car next to it. It's radiant heat transfer from the sun and the black will absolutely, positively be hotter. The air conditioner may be able to keep the interior the same, but it will be working harder to do so.
I never get black bicycle jerseys...
Put your hand on a white car and a black car next to it. It's radiant heat transfer from the sun and the black will absolutely, positively be hotter. The air conditioner may be able to keep the interior the same, but it will be working harder to do so. I never get black bicycle jerseys...
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It doesn't matter. They'll all get heated to the same temperature (+/- a few deg) given enough time. Maybe the black will get heated up faster.
Mythbuster had an episode on it. Don't remember the results.
Mythbuster had an episode on it. Don't remember the results.
All I can say is try touching a black car and a white car next to each other. Ever noticed how they paint the roofs of school buses white? There's a difference even between those two! That's why they make industrial building roofing membranes white. Heck put on a white hat and then a black one. OK, forget the mechanical engineering science of heat transfer, empirical examples are everywhere.
Ding ding ding...Infiniti clientele are smart!
After lots of internet research...YES, dark colors absorb heat faster than light colors thereby it gets hotter faster. [This we all know one way or another]
With regards to cars though:
- Exterior: As others have stated, dark colors will feel hotter than light colors...both of which will be hot given enough time.
- Interior: Same as Exterior, but more importantly is the material as it plays a huge factor as to what touches your body/skin...ie. Leather (buy cars with ventilated/climate-control seats, helps alot). NOTE: Not factoring cars with tint/privacy glass as these helps alot as well.
Most peeps think Exterior color is a direct correlation to Interior temperature...but the key thought process is really given enough time, all Interior will have the same temp. (+/-). Cars are so well built and well insulated now that it does not have a huge factor, plus what is A/C for.
ALL cars parked under direct sunlight, given enough time, will reach an uncomfortable level of hawtness.
Like really...who is gonna complain about a few +/- if they are just jumping in/out of a parked car that frequently, right? My white car is only 110 vs your black car that is 113...blah blah.
Anyways...bottomline, get what color you want cause it is a really small factor with regardless to heat levels.
(Just had to post since I had a debate w/the wifey.)
After lots of internet research...YES, dark colors absorb heat faster than light colors thereby it gets hotter faster. [This we all know one way or another]
With regards to cars though:
- Exterior: As others have stated, dark colors will feel hotter than light colors...both of which will be hot given enough time.
- Interior: Same as Exterior, but more importantly is the material as it plays a huge factor as to what touches your body/skin...ie. Leather (buy cars with ventilated/climate-control seats, helps alot). NOTE: Not factoring cars with tint/privacy glass as these helps alot as well.
Most peeps think Exterior color is a direct correlation to Interior temperature...but the key thought process is really given enough time, all Interior will have the same temp. (+/-). Cars are so well built and well insulated now that it does not have a huge factor, plus what is A/C for.
ALL cars parked under direct sunlight, given enough time, will reach an uncomfortable level of hawtness.
Like really...who is gonna complain about a few +/- if they are just jumping in/out of a parked car that frequently, right? My white car is only 110 vs your black car that is 113...blah blah.
Anyways...bottomline, get what color you want cause it is a really small factor with regardless to heat levels.
(Just had to post since I had a debate w/the wifey.)
Another thought and not related to heat. We've had 3 Nissans with the black interior. It loks nice, but does show the dust. We have The wheat interior in the JX and love it. It doesn't show the dust but it will show dirt/scuffs, etc. As much as we would have loved the darker color in the JX, it is nice to have the lighter color for a change. It may be psychological, but it does seem to stay cooler than the black. We do have the driver and passenger front windows tinted to match the other windows and that does too seem to help keep the car cooler.
I was just looking at the poll question, it's indeterminate. It's like "heads I win, tails you lose"
Anyway, there is a whole science and branch of mechanical engineering associated with heat transfer. There's conduction, convection, and radiant heat transfer. Cars deal with convection and radiant. When a car sits in the sun, the major heat load radiant, where it gets radiated heat energy (actually, it's electro-magnetic radiation). It would continue to absorb until it melted, but convection heat transfer (transferring the energy to the air) balances it. The reason a dark car will ALWAYS be hotter in the sun is that it picks up more radiant energy than a light car, and the convection effect can't keep up as well with the extra energy. It's simple physics.
As for the interior... I dunno. They are supposed to have Low-E glass (which reflects radiant energy). And the rear windows are tinted. So how much gets through? About the only good place to pick up lots of radiant heat is the dash and the tops of the door panels in the front. The seats, somewhat. But, since the wheat dash is lots lighter, it will absorb at a lower rate. Then again, convection is hampered, because with the windows rolled up, not a lot of air exchange happens!
Anyway, there is a whole science and branch of mechanical engineering associated with heat transfer. There's conduction, convection, and radiant heat transfer. Cars deal with convection and radiant. When a car sits in the sun, the major heat load radiant, where it gets radiated heat energy (actually, it's electro-magnetic radiation). It would continue to absorb until it melted, but convection heat transfer (transferring the energy to the air) balances it. The reason a dark car will ALWAYS be hotter in the sun is that it picks up more radiant energy than a light car, and the convection effect can't keep up as well with the extra energy. It's simple physics.
As for the interior... I dunno. They are supposed to have Low-E glass (which reflects radiant energy). And the rear windows are tinted. So how much gets through? About the only good place to pick up lots of radiant heat is the dash and the tops of the door panels in the front. The seats, somewhat. But, since the wheat dash is lots lighter, it will absorb at a lower rate. Then again, convection is hampered, because with the windows rolled up, not a lot of air exchange happens!
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I think our cars have "solar blocking glass". Does that mean we don't need additional tinting to block eat?
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sorry. HEAT.
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uv blocking, ir blocking, solar blocking, privacy glass--can someone explain the differences please?
it does seem that heat blocking and uv blocking are directly related to the darkness of the glass.
it does seem that heat blocking and uv blocking are directly related to the darkness of the glass.
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I love the look of darker colored cars...but for a family vehicle like the JX I just don't have the time to hand wash it a ton like I might do with my personal daily driver. If someone is highly sensitive to a higher temperature of a darker car then pick a lighter color. For me I would just get the color you like the best and be happy with it.
The darkness of a glass does not directly mean there is UV protection...it just means less light to penetrate it. What you, your skin, your eyes, your vehicle interior, etc. really needs is UV protection. The darkness of the glass is just looks/preference.
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looks like to cut heat you need to block infra red not uv
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Window_Film/Solutions/Markets-Products/Automotive/
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Window_Film/Solutions/Markets-Products/Automotive/
The JX has UV blocking (reducing?) glass all around. I've sat in two JX's side by side in a parking lot with wheat and graphite interior. No really noticeable difference in inside car temp. Both were better than my Pilot with gray seats and a nearby MDX with black seats. I can only ascribe this difference to the UV glass. The other real benefit of the UV glass is that over time, the interior should hold up better than comparable vehicles w/out the UV glass.
Bottom line: get the wheat interior if you like the color and don't have little kids. Get the graphite interior if you have rugrats putting all sorts of crap on your seats all the time.
Bottom line: get the wheat interior if you like the color and don't have little kids. Get the graphite interior if you have rugrats putting all sorts of crap on your seats all the time.
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