Sun Awnings - what colour

[Chris_Robb]

We are about to make up an awning - for shade rather than rain. SWMBO wants blue as it does not glare in bright sunlight, but I think it absorbs the heat which you feel underneath it rather than reflecting it. so wotdoyouthink - blue for no glare or white for cool???

 

[dave]

Tell her to wear sunglasses Chris, and go for white

Dave

 

[Gunfleet]

Oh stop boasting! You're only posting this to tantalise the rest of us.
John

 

[tcm]

Blue is ok but it has to be Navy blue, not the shitey mid-blue like the stripe on a older rassy or a chelsea foopballer. Quite amazing how much crud is in the rain, so mrs r is correct imho.

also the absorbing heat aspect is irrelevant imho - there'll be air flow underneath it - or if there isn't, get out of the marinas and anchor in a bay

 

[Chris_Robb]

No I'm not!!!! - we have abandoned plans to take the boat to Northern Spain, and will be back to Plymouth at Easter. Being out at grass so to speak, leaves things a little uncertain, so having the boat closer to home just makes for one less worry. You never know - the sun might shine in Cornwall one day!

Been having this arguement with SWMBO about the colour, so I thight I could get some useful feedback from here - some chance!!!!!!

 

[Chris_Robb]

You try telling her to do anything! I notice you are based in Cornwall - we are coming back to Torpoint at Easterfrom Brittany. If we make a sun awning, I suppose the rain gods will hear and it will piss all summer.

 

[Chris_Robb]

or install air con. Looks like I will loose this one so blue - dark blue it will be!, We are also going to be in the West Country (plymouth) for this year as I am not sure what I will be doing and when. - looks like I may end up in the states for a few weeks, so my plans to bugger off for the year don't seem to be coming together.

 

[charles_reed]

You'll find few biminis in the med in white - the sun can "glare" through it too much and it looks tatty when it gets stained by the first few rain-showers.
Most boats have navy-blue - but if you don't want to be one with the hoi polloi, whu not go for burgundy which is what I've done.

The "dark colours" heating is a bit of a fallacy, white is far warmer from my 3 summers' experience.

 

[Chris_Robb]

Charles - it appears that the consensus is blue - so I now have to grovel to SWMBO and let her get on with it in blue!

 

[charles_reed]

Very common you know

Make sure you've got ventilation and zip-on sides so you can angle them to keep out the sun.
I find mine quite useful for keeping out the rain and I can sail with it up.

 

[Magic_Sailor]

Definitely reflective white for cool. You're not going to see the top of it to get glare anyway! You're Bedouins have white tents, not black ones - and they should know.

You are dead right, blue (dark colours) are good absorbers AND re-radiators of heat. Matt black being the best - hence clear night skies (matt black) tend to mean a cold night as it's absorbing a lot of heat from the ground.

(I've never understood why household radiators aren't matt black to reduce energy consumption - oh yes that's right, it looks awful - unless your a teenage boy suffering anxst).

Hope that's helpful.

Magic

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[jamesjermain]

What - black sky??!!

Got to take you up on that!

Heat loss at night when sky is clear is due to radiation from the earth not being reflected by cloud layer, nothing to do with colour - sky doesn't have a colour other than that caused by refracted sunlight. It's space - the final frontier - there's nothing up there to absorb anything, other than... (no bad astronaut jokes please - ed).

JJ

 

[Gunfleet]

<<hence clear night skies (matt black) tend to mean a cold night as it's absorbing a lot of heat from the ground>>
instead of all those nice wooly clouds keeping us warm?

 

[Gunfleet]

Re: What - black sky??!!

Magic is a pre-galilean. The universe is beaming its chill directly at him. I feel like that too sometimes!

 

[Gunfleet]

Well if you want a proper answer I'd say get that off white Point North sell. Sort of a raw canvas look. Nice.

 

[tcm]

Re: What - black sky??!!

mind you, good job icebergs and snow isn't matt black othewise they would be very cold too.

 

[jimboaw]

SWMBO is making a white one. It could have been any colour but white was the cheapest 'Sunbrella' on E Bay. Am a bit worried about the Pelican sh*t though. A good sun awning is a "must have" in Florida and most boats sail with a permanent bimini top but I don't fancy that

 

[Magic_Sailor]

That's absolutely correct! Although I think sense a hint of a suggestion of little sarcasm.

Remember, I'm only talking about radiated heat, not conducted.

Magic

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[Magic_Sailor]

Re: What - black sky??!!

Your partly rught James. I was talking about radiated heat but viewed from the point of view of the ground (if there is such a thing!) it sees the sky as a virtually perfect "black body" to use the physics term.

Hence a newly ploughed field forms a very good large matt black body radiator and the matt black cloudless sky a very good black body absorber. Lots of radiated heat travels from the ground into space. When walking next to such a field in winter I've actually felt the drop in temperature nearby. This "ploughed field on a starry night" business was a standard physics question back when I were a boy. The point being that its the closest thing we can get naturally on earth for a "perfect" radiation/absorption system.

Also, as everbody knows, space, the final frontier is in fact a little known mutation suffered by James T Kirk because he had 3 ears....his left ear, his right ear and space....I shan't go on.

Magic

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[Magic_Sailor]

Re: What - black sky??!!

They'd certainly melt quicker as they'd absorb the heat from the Sun faster.

Magic

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