White roof cooler?

[rduncan610]

My Artic Blue NVP gets hot in the Texas sun.  All the school buses around here have white roofs.  No one sees the NVP roof anyway. (Maybe Tim Duncan could catch a glimpse)

 

Wondering if anyone has experience with lowering inside temps with a white roof on a van, etc?

[Bates]

No clue. I was wondering about a plasti-dip for cosmetic reasons (like a Ford Flex) but haven't worked up the courage to do that to one on the lot yet.

[RICK]

If you compare it to a commercial flat roof, they use a combination of white or silver to reflect the sun/ heat. Not telling you to apply Henrys to your van, but it works at my shop with a flat roof in southern California.

 

Rick.

[andy_george]

I'd imagine it would have to make a difference. Wether or not you'd notice the difference is hard to tell. Be the first to try it and let us know:)

[radin2son]

A thermometer might measure a difference when parked in the sun, but you wouldn't. Same for driving, but your AC may work better when recirculating cabin air. I think the white roofed Flex is Ford's idea of style not thermo dynamics.

 

If I were going to do it, I would have an auto paint shop paint it, not attempt it yourself or use a commercial roof coating. It would kill the resale value if not done right.

 

Speaking of resale value, we saw an old Dodge camper van that had bed liner paint up to the door handles all around, then painted tan. This was toughness over style and resale. Don't remember if it had a white roof...

[mahu]

I did some research on this before I decided if I should get the NV2500 Cargo HR in white or Arctic blue.

It turns out (according to a bunch of studies I found conducted at various universities) that about 80-90% (depending on the study) of the heat build-up inside a car comes in through the windows. It is basically a greenhouse effect.

 

UV and visible light comes through the windows, hits a surface and whatever part of the light does not get reflected back out, gets converted to heat that is then trapped in the van. The studies suggested that the color of the surfaces in the car makes a significantly larger difference to the internal temperature than the outside color of the car. 

 

After reading a bunch on this and finding tons of studies I was convinced and decided that the improved looks of a van in Arctic blue are worth a minute difference in temperature inside the van during a hot and sunny day. I am planning on getting well-fitting sunshades to put in the windows when parked to reflect light back out of the cab of the van. 

[andy_george]

Sounds logical. I use a foil sunscreen in the windshield most of the summer, guess that should be making a difference....!

[Chris_CommercialManager]

Just buy some white vinyl and do it yourself if you want to give it a shot, no one will even see it.  If there is a bubble or two so what, I think it would accomplish the same as paint.