Passive cooling relies on shade, reflectivity, and insulation to keep your vehicle cooler. It's not technically cooling your vehicle, just reducing the rate at which it heats up, so the result is the same. Shade blocks the radiant heat from sunlight from reaching your vehicle at all, reflectivity bounces it away, and insulation slows the heat transfer into your vehicle. It's an important part of keeping cool.
Shade
Natural shade includes any shade that results from objects present in the area: trees, clouds, buildings, bridges, parking garages, and so on.
Artificial shade includes any shade that results from objects added in the area: awnings, shade cloth, etc.Reflectivity
Vehicle color impact on interior temperature
The paint color of your vehicle can have a significant impact, especially for those spending time in warm climates. A Ford dealer lined up a bunch of vans of different colors in the afternoon sun and took the following temperature measurements off the skin:
- Ingot Silver: 113-114°F
- Oxford White: 118-119°F
- Other colors: in the 120s°F
- Carbonized Gray: 142°F
Other tests have come up with similar results.
Window tint
Spending the extra money for ceramic window tint can help with keeping cool during warm weather, since it is better at stopping solar radiant heat from entering through your glass.
“ Ceramic tint at 70% will keep the heat out at all times. Any quality tint shop should have it. ”
“ Got my whole car done for $700. Was cool all summer and only needed a small fan at night to sleep.[1] ”
Ceramic paint additives
Ceramic paint additives are special ceramic powders that can be stirred into any paint. This paint is then applied to the vehicle, which helps reduce heat transfer between the interior and exterior. It effectively makes a very thin radiant heat barrier, which helps keep your vehicle interior cooler in the summer (especially while in direct sunlight) and warmer in the winter.Continue reading …Insulation
When the exterior temperature is warmer than your vehicle's interior, insulation helps to reduce the rate at which heat transfers into your vehicle. However, once temperatures have equalized, the benefit stops, and as the exterior temperatures fall, the insulation will also keep your vehicle from cooling down as quickly.