EML4140-Heat-Transfer Mechanical Engineering Department, Florida Polytechnic University, Lakeland, FL 33805-8531

How Does Color Affect Heat Transfer in a Car?

Stone Satterlee
Florida Polytechnic University, Lakeland, Florida, USA, ssatterlee8455@floridapoly.edu

Abstract
The aim of this project is to perform an analysis and conduct calculations using heat transfer concepts to
find how the exterior color of a car will affect the maximum cabin temperature and the rate at which
temperature will increase. To perform these calculations I used equations for solar irradiance, ambient
temperature difference, 1st law of thermodynamics, and heat absorbed from solar radiation. The findings
from the analytical analysis showed that dark colored vehicles do in fact reach a greater maximum
temperature and increase in temperature at a much higher rate. This information can be an important
factor for consumers to consider when purchasing a vehicle.

Keywords: Heat Transfer, Absorptivity, Solar Irradiance

Nomenclature
2
A Area, 𝑚
−1
𝐶𝑝 Specific Heat, 𝐽 · 𝑘𝑔 ·𝐾
2
G Solar Irradiance, 𝑊/𝑚
2
ℎ Convective Coefficient, 𝑊/𝑚 𝐾
Q Heat Transfer, W
𝑅 Thermal Resistance,
T Temperature, ℃
2
U Heat Transfer Coefficient, 𝑊/𝑚 𝐾

Greek Symbols
α Absorptivity Unitless
β Altitude Angle, °
γ Length, m
κ Thermal Conductivity, 𝑊/𝑚 · 𝐾
3
ρ Density, 𝑘𝑔/𝑚
ρ𝑔 Ground Reflectivity
τ Transmissivity

Subscripts
i internal
∞ outside
t total

Lakeland, Florida 33805-85 Florida Polytechnic University Fall-2023

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1. INTRODUCTION
The procedure for this project consisted of making use of various heat transfer concepts such as, heat gain
from solar radiation, ambient temperature, and absorptivity to perform analytical calculations for a black
and a white Honda CRV. To perform these calculations we must first understand the problem (section 2),
the assumptions we are making (section 2.1), and what equations are going to be used (section 3).

2. PROBLEM STATEMENT
The main problem for this project is determining how much of an effect color has on the maximum cabin
temperature that a car can reach when left sitting and how fast the rate of temperature increase is. For this
analytical analysis I will be comparing the results I find from a black Honda CR-V and white one. To
perform these calculations I will be factoring in the outside air temperature, solar irradiance for each face
of the vehicle, and the absorptivity of the exterior paint.

Figure 1: 2008 Honda CR-V

2.1 Assumptions
Some key assumptions I will be making is that the system is steady state, the sky is clear, and that the car
is a closed system. I will also be performing these calculations on August 1st at 1:30PM in Orlando
Florida. I chose this time so the calculations would be based on the hottest day and time of the year as
well as being solar noon. Additionally, I will be assuming an initial cabin temperature of 24℃ as this
would be the general comfort temperature someone would have the car at when they leave it.

Lakeland, Florida 33805-85 Florida Polytechnic University Fall-2023

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 Figure 2: Car Schematic

For my calculations I will be using a more simplified boxy model of the car to simplify finding the
necessary face areas.

3. GOVERNING EQUATIONS
The first equation that was used (1) is for solar irradiance. Solar irradiance represents the amount of power
per unit area received from the sun. This equation takes into account the time of year and day along with
the location on earth and the angle of the surface we are looking at. Solar irradiance will be used to find
the solar radiation coming in contact with all the car's external surfaces.
𝐺𝑡 = [𝑚𝑎𝑥(𝑐𝑜𝑠θ, 0) + 𝐶𝐹𝑤𝑠 + ρ𝑔𝐹𝑤𝑔(𝑠𝑖𝑛β + 𝐶)]𝐺𝑁𝐷 (1)
The second equation that was used (2) is for heat transferred from solar radiation. This equation is used to
find how much of the solar irradiance is absorbed by taking into account the object's surface area,
absorptivity, and the transmissivity of a medium in front of it such as glass or air. This equation is key for
answering the question proposed as absorptivity directly relates to the color of the car.
𝑄 = 𝐴𝐺𝑡τα (2)
The third equation that was used (3) is for thermal resistance. This equation is a measure of how a
medium resists heat flow through it. It takes into account the convective and conductive heat transfer
coefficients along with the material thicknes.This is important for finding heat transfer through the car
walls and windows.
1 γ 1
𝑅= ℎ𝑜
+ κ
+ ℎ𝑖
(3)

Lakeland, Florida 33805-85 Florida Polytechnic University Fall-2023

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The fourth equation that was used (4) is for heating due to the difference in ambient temperature. This
equation takes into account the difference in outside and inside temperature, the area of the surface, and
the heat transfer coefficient for the walls of the car to find the amount of heat entering the car due to the
ambient temperature difference.
𝑄 = 𝐴𝑈(𝑇∞ − 𝑇𝑖) (3)
The fifth equation that was used (5) is dimensionless temperature. This equation relates the total heat
transfer to the differences in outside and inside temperature to find the maximum temperature the system
can reach. This is how the maximum cabin temperature was calculated.
𝑇−𝑇∞
𝑄𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝑇𝑖−𝑇∞
(4)
The sixth equation that was used (6) is a form of the 1st law of thermodynamics for a control volume.
This equation is used to relate the difference between the final and initial temperature to the heat transfer
rate to find out how long it takes to go from the said initial and final temperatures. This was used to find
the rate at which the car is heating up.
𝑚𝐶𝑝∆𝑇
∆𝑡 = 𝑄
(5)

3. RESULTS
Table 1: Material Properties

Property Glass White Car Body Black Car Body

Absorptivity, α 0.3 0.25 0.9

Transmissivity, τ 0.5 0 0

Conductivity, 𝑊/𝑚𝐾 1.05 0.2 0.2

Thickness, mm 3 10 10

Table 2: Heat Transfer Results

Heat Transfer White Car Black Car

Ambient Temperature 78.06W 78.06W

Solar Radiation 4556.53W 1670.33W

Total 4634.59W 1748.39W

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 White Car
𝑇−𝑇∞ 𝑇−307°𝐾
𝑄𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝑇𝑖−𝑇∞
−> 1746. 48𝑊 = 297°𝐾−307°𝐾

𝑇𝑜 = 208℃
𝑚𝐶𝑝∆𝑇 (9.68𝑘𝑔)(1005)(208℃−24℃)
∆𝑡 = 𝑄
−> ∆𝑡 = 1746.48𝑊
∆𝑡 = 1024. 93𝑠 or 10.77℃/min

Black Car
𝑇−𝑇∞ 𝑇−307°𝐾
𝑄𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝑇𝑖−𝑇∞
−> 4634. 59𝑊 = 297°𝐾−307°𝐾

𝑇𝑜 = 497. 5℃
𝑚𝐶𝑝∆𝑇 (9.68𝑘𝑔)(1005)(497℃−24℃)
∆𝑡 = 𝑄
−> ∆𝑡 = 4634.59𝑊
∆𝑡 = 993. 91𝑠 or 28.7℃/min

4. DISCUSSION
In this project analytical calculations were performed to determine the difference the color of a car made
in the maximum internal temperature it could reach and the rate at which temperature increased. Firstly,
the solar irradiation was calculated using equation (1) for August 1st at 1:30PM in Orlando Florida. I then
applied the solar irradiation I calculated to equation (2) with the absorptivity values for the white and
black car found from solarmirror.com [5]. Next, I found the heat transfer due to the ambient temperature
difference using equations (3) and (4). I used values for thermal conductivity and the convective
coefficient found from the paper “The Load Calculation of Automobile Air Conditioning System” [2].
The results for the heat transfer from radiation and ambient temperature are shown in Table 2. I then used
the dimensionless temperature equation (5) to find the maximum temperature for vehicles of both colors
and finally applied the 1st Law of Thermodynamics (6) to find how long it took to go from the starting
comfort temperature to the maximum temperature.

The results I found for the maximum cabin temperature were extremely high. Realistically they should
have been lower but I believe this was because I assumed the system was steady state and that it was a
completely closed system. If the system was assumed to not be steady state the amount of heat gain would
diminish over time instead of increasing linearly. This is also the case for how quickly each vehicle heated
up, 10.77℃/min for the white car and 28.7℃/min for the black car which is an incredibly fast rate of
temperature increase. Other factors that could have resulted in getting such high values could be not
knowing the exact construction of the car walls and doors to give a proper heat transfer coefficient and
there being no infiltration taken into account. However, my results did give a clear answer to the problem
at hand, the black car had a 289.6℃ greater maximum temperature and increased at a rate of 2.66 times
faster. Even though the temperature and rate of increase for both vehicles were inflated I can still draw a
strong conclusion that color has a substantial impact.

Lakeland, Florida 33805-85 Florida Polytechnic University Fall-2023

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5. CONCLUSION
As a result of the procedures followed in this project it can be shown how heat transfer concepts and
equations can be used to compare real world scenarios. It was shown that color has a significant impact on
the maximum cabin temperature as well as how fast the temperature increases. The black car had a
289.6℃ greater maximum temperature and increased at a rate of 2.66 times faster as compared to the
white one. However, it was obvious that these values were very inflated due to some of the assumptions
that were made. In a real world scenario a vehicle is not a perfectly closed system and heat transfer is not
a steady state process. Although the values found wouldn’t perfectly reflect real world results we can still
make assumptions to simplify the problem and be able to draw a conclusion. The greater absorptivity of
black paint as compared to white paint does in fact play a significant role in the total heat transfer because
of the amount of solar radiation that is absorbed. All in all, the completion of this project was a great
exercise in applying heat transfer concepts and equations such as solar irradiation, ambient temperature,
and the 1st Law of Thermodynamics to compare two scenarios and draw a clear conclusion.

REFERENCES
[1] August 2023 - Orlando, Florida - sunrise and sunset calendar. sunrise-sunset. (n.d.).
https://sunrise-sunset.org/us/orlando-fl/2023/8[2] Engineering Development, Editor International Journal, and Research IJE
[3] Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer, 8th Edition, Theodore L. Bergman, Adrienne S. Lavine,
Frank P. Incropera, David P. DeWitt.
[4] MCQuiston et. al., HVAC, Sixth Edition, 2005
[5] Table of absorptivity and emissivity of common materials and coatings. solarmirror. (n.d.).
http://www.solarmirror.com/fom/fom-serve/cache/43.html

Lakeland, Florida 33805-85 Florida Polytechnic University Fall-2023

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