Entering a vehicle that’s been parked under the sun during summer is going to be quite uncomfortable. Its interior, upholstery, and dashboard might be scorching hot. However, some vehicles can heat up more under the sun than others. Your vehicle’s paint color can help determine how much heat your vehicle absorbs from sunlight.
White Cars Absorb Less Heat
A white car is going to be the coolest under the sun compared to other colors, especially black. Why? White surfaces reflect the most light, which causes them to absorb less heat energy. Meanwhile, dark-colored surfaces absorb more light, which causes them to heat up more. Depending on the paint, a white vehicle can reflect up to 60% of the sun’s rays. On the other hand, a black car is going to reflect around only 5%.
White isn’t the only color that will result in cooler temperatures. Light colors such as yellow, pink, orange, and light green, will also reap similar results. Meanwhile, darker colors such as dark blue or black are going to reflect the least light and absorb the most heat.
How Much Cooler Are White Cars?
People put vehicle colors to the test by measuring the surface temperatures of white and black vehicles under the sun. Across several tests, the surfaces of white cars tend to be around 20 to 50°F cooler than a black car in direct sunlight. However, do cooler surface temperatures in white vehicles also result in cooler cabins?
Yes. In a test, a white vehicle was measured to have a cabin temperature of 113°F. Meanwhile, its black-colored counterpart was 131°F. A white-colored vehicle won’t save you from getting a hot interior, but a difference of 20°F is quite substantial.
That said, there are many factors to consider when it comes to how hot your interior gets. Factors such as your vehicle’s tint and interior color can also drastically affect your cabin’s temperature. A car with less tint and a dark interior is going to make the upholstery much hotter since your upholstery will absorb most of the light energy. Meanwhile, a lighter interior can make your vehicle interior cooler.
White Cars Will Take Less Time to Cool Down
As you enter your vehicle’s cabin during a hot day, the air, seats, dashboard, and steering wheel can be searingly hot. Naturally, you’ll need to cool everything down immediately before you can start driving. The process of cooling down your vehicle is going to take longer if you’re in a dark-colored, hotter vehicle.
White Cars Can Be More Efficient
Turning up your vehicle’s A/C to cool down a dark-colored vehicle is going to result in a slight drop in fuel efficiency due to the increased load on your vehicle’s compressor. If you’re driving an electric vehicle, you might even get reduced mileage since your A/C is going to use more energy from the battery. If you’re looking to buy an EV, choosing a lighter color might make it more energy efficient and have longer mileage.
White Cars Are More Visible
Your vehicle’s color can also have a direct impact on your vehicle’s visibility and therefore safety. Since white is much more visible at night, other drivers have a greater likelihood of seeing your vehicle compared to a dark-colored vehicle. This improved visibility is also advantageous in low-visibility situations such as in fog or rain.
White Cars Have Better Resale Value
White is the most popular vehicle color in the US, with 24% of all vehicles being white. If there comes a day when you need to sell your white vehicle, you’ll be pleased to know that you can sell it for a higher price. Since more people like the color white, it’ll generally be more desirable. Hence, you can potentially sell it for a higher price.
Choosing your vehicle’s color can be determined by what brings out your vehicle’s personality or style. For the most part, picking vehicle colors is a heavily subjective choice. That said, some colors are objectively better than others in certain aspects. Before you purchase your vehicle, you should evaluate the range of benefits or consequences that color might have,
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