Nissan Motor Co. said it has developed a new type of paint that significantly reduces the temperature inside vehicles parked in direct sunlight.

The surface of a car coated with the innovative material remains up to 12 degrees cooler than that of a vehicle with standard paint, tests showed.

The company said the coating material can help rein in the temperature rise not only on the car’s body but also in the vehicle when exposed to direct sunlight.

        • Cethin
          link
          fedilink
          English
          147 months ago

          Well, they would have invented the specific formulation they’re using. I’m sure it’s not exactly like this but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same concept with microbeads.

          No one invents anything totally new. It’s all adding on to what others have made in the past. Nothing has ever been created from scratch.

    • Echo Dot
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1
      edit-2
      7 months ago

      Nasa have developed a paint for spacecraft that can be any color including black and still have the properties of white paint. It’s only colored in the visible part of the spectrum but allows IR to pass right through.

      Although you do need to paint the vehicle white initially as an undercoat.

  • Poot
    link
    fedilink
    English
    387 months ago

    They’re currently working hard for a way to make it subscription.

  • @MerchantsOfMisery@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    97 months ago

    Windshield screens are the low-tech but far more effective method of keeping a car’s interior cooler, typically by at least 20F when it’s really hot out. Slightly inconvenient but unlike this paint, a windshield screen will actually make a difference.

    • @nyctre@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      367 months ago

      Mythbusters did an experiment with a black car and a white car hitting in the sun. The black car was 12 degrees Celsius hotter. Claiming that the paint makes no difference is such a weird take. I thought this was common knowledge as well as many people I’ve met avoid darker colours in summer and such.

      • @Telorand@reddthat.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        17 months ago

        Speaking of huge and inconvenient, if you’re a cheapskate, just get a car cover. Always helped my motorcycle.

      • @MerchantsOfMisery@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        -1
        edit-2
        7 months ago

        What’s the cost (financial and environmental) of repainting a car vs using a windshield visor that’s at least twice as effective at reducing heat? Painting a car with this stuff would cost thousands of dollars compare to $20 for a visor.

        • @nyctre@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          27 months ago

          I’m not talking about repainting anything, why are you moving the goalposts? Just buy a white car AND use a visor, what’s wrong with that? And in the future, if this stuff is actually good, maybe all cars can come already painted with it?

          • @MerchantsOfMisery@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            English
            17 months ago

            Just buy a white car AND use a visor, what’s wrong with that?

            Nothing’s wrong with that-- why would I assume you’re talking about regular paint when this whole article is specifically about a single type of new paint developed to keep cars cool in heat?

      • IndiBrony
        link
        fedilink
        English
        57 months ago

        Summer was hard on me in my teenage goth years.

        Can’t really get many light shades of black.

    • DarkThoughts
      link
      fedilink
      -127 months ago

      I don’t care about your cage’s interior temperature. Until we can ban cars from cities I’d welcome such paint, because all those shit heaps of cages standing on public space still end up heating up the places around them, further inconveniencing everyone else even more.

      • Jojo, Lady of the West
        link
        fedilink
        English
        37 months ago

        Do they? I mean yes, because the ICE engines just constantly dump a ton of heat out, but does a parked car? Is there data on that?

        • DarkThoughts
          link
          fedilink
          07 months ago

          Yes, just like “rock / gravel gardens” or whatever you call them in English, which are now banned in a lot of places for one reason being that exact same phenomenon of contributing to the urban heat island effect. They soak up the heat from the sun like a battery and then slowly release it into their environment, keeping it warm. It’s super obvious as a pedestrian.

      • @MerchantsOfMisery@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        3
        edit-2
        7 months ago

        You realize the emissions saved from reduced AC usage would also reduce the heat island effect, right? Sun visors like this are good for public spaces.

        Also, it’s more environmentally friendly to have people use visors than repaint their whole car.

        • DarkThoughts
          link
          fedilink
          -17 months ago

          That still does not make me care about your cars interior temperature.

          • @MerchantsOfMisery@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            English
            27 months ago

            That’s okay, you seem pretty simpleminded so I don’t exactly expect you to understand the issue. I understand the anti-car sentiment but you’ve clearly gone off the deep end yet you still seem to think it matters to other people whether you care about issues like this.

            • DarkThoughts
              link
              fedilink
              -27 months ago

              That’s okay, you seem pretty simpleminded so I don’t exactly expect you to understand the issue.

              Projecting much? Love the insults btw. Really drives your point forward.

              I understand the anti-car sentiment but you’ve clearly gone off the deep end yet you still seem to think it matters to other people whether you care about issues like this.

              You seem to care a lot. It’s also again projection and highly ironic since you were the one who apparently thought people care about your car’s interior temperature.

              • @MerchantsOfMisery@lemmy.ml
                link
                fedilink
                English
                27 months ago

                You seem to care a lot.

                I think you’re confusing my care for the issue as me caring for you. It’s too bad you can’t even be bothered to make some of your comment relevant to the discussion.

                • DarkThoughts
                  link
                  fedilink
                  17 months ago

                  My reply to your comment was more relevant than your comment about windshield screens. Whatever. I have better things to do than talk to people who do constant mental gymnastics to win stupid internet arguments. Have a nice day.

    • kingthrillgore
      link
      fedilink
      English
      27 months ago

      Wanna know how you’re right? Look at the FLIR photo above and note where the heat is at its highest

    • @herrvogel@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      8
      edit-2
      7 months ago

      They found a very interesting way of selling their hybrid cars as full on EVs where I live. Their e-power stuff are small ICEs working as generators for electric motors that then drive the wheels. Apparently the fact that the wheels get all their power from an electric motor makes it definitely not a hybrid no sir, despite the fact the cars have tiny ass batteries and the single source of power for the whole system is the ICE. Also they somehow have worse fuel efficiency than many contemporary ICEs that cost quite a bit less. I don’t understand Nissan.

      • @T156@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        47 months ago

        A few car companies seem to be doing that. Toyota(?) here are advertising their hybrid vehicles as “self-charging electric vehicles” instead of a hybrid, even though there’s no way to plug them in and not have them self charge.

  • @remer@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    397 months ago

    And that’s 12 degrees Celsius (21.6 degrees Fahrenheit)! What kind of garbage article doesn’t include the units!?

    • MHLoppy
      link
      fedilink
      207 months ago

      Or 53.6 degrees Fahrenheit if you believe whoever wrote the page for Nissan lmao. I guess they just typed it into a converter with no context, and the converter spat out an answer amounting to “if your thermometer says it’s 12 degrees C, that would be 53.6 degrees F”… but without that context.

      • @BakerBagel@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        37 months ago

        There probably wasn’t even anyone who actually wrote it. Fed it into some LLM to generate the page and no one actually edited it to make sure everything made sense

        • @AA5B@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          2
          edit-2
          7 months ago

          That’s why it’s a better choice to just clearly identify the units and not attempt to be clever about converting for a particular audience

        • MHLoppy
          link
          fedilink
          77 months ago

          Fair point, but I guess I would hope that the person being paid to write the copy would check it, since getting that right seems like it’s part of their job description ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    • DarkThoughts
      link
      fedilink
      157 months ago

      What kind of garbage article doesn’t include the units!?

      What for? Almost no country uses Fahrenheit.

      • @Telorand@reddthat.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        337 months ago

        If that’s how scientists did science, we’d have mountains of confusion. “Eh, most people will get it. Good enough.”

        Information like this is global. It’s a single “C” for clarity. That’s not an unreasonable ask.

          • @Telorand@reddthat.com
            link
            fedilink
            English
            27 months ago

            Maybe it’s a mental reading thing. I always “hear” the word “degrees” in my head when I see °, so I like the extra effort to include that, but I also know that colloquially, people are a lot lazier.

        • DarkThoughts
          link
          fedilink
          37 months ago

          This is a news article, not a study, which would’ve more likely used Kelvin, which would be still 12 degrees. It’s for everyday people, which almost all of which use Celsius to measure temperature. People outside of the few countries who use Fahrenheit don’t get confused about it because it’s literally the only measurement they use in their life. If you travel outside the US you will find that no one adds Fahrenheit conversations anywhere and that pretty much all temperatures are listed in Celsius.

          • @Telorand@reddthat.com
            link
            fedilink
            English
            67 months ago

            You’re arguing that it’s not worth the effort to be clear over a single letter, from a place of what appears to be some American-oriented xenophobia. Not a good look.

            But to your point about travel, that isn’t analogous. This isn’t an American tourist going to another country, where the temperature context is Celsius. This is an article disseminated globally; by its very nature, the context should be agnostic of locale, and so it would behoove the authors to be clear (again, with a single letter) so that there is no confusion.

            • DarkThoughts
              link
              fedilink
              57 months ago

              Calling out US entitlement isn’t xenophobia. That self applied victim complex is just proving my point.

              This is an article disseminated globally

              Anything on the internet is inherently accessible globally, unless there’s a geo-block in place. That does not mean that the things on the internet have to inherently be tailored to US standards or with US viewers in mind. The clearly not US sounding website “The Asahi Shimbun” even specifically has the subtitle “Asia & Japan Watch”, which should make it more than obvious that this is not a US focused media. The only confusion coming up here is when you have to assume US units being used everywhere else, which simply is not the case.

              • @Telorand@reddthat.com
                link
                fedilink
                English
                97 months ago

                Again, you’re quibbling about the letter C for the sake of clarity and calling that US entitlement. You’re welcome to die on that hill, but it seems like a silly one to die upon because you have some beef with Americans.

                • DarkThoughts
                  link
                  fedilink
                  -17 months ago

                  Again, you’re quibbling about the letter C for the sake of clarity

                  No, that’s what you are doing. lol I’m telling you that the letter is irrelevant for the majority of people in the world because we all already assuming the correct units of temperature and you seem to take an issue with that fact.

              • @AA5B@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                27 months ago

                I’ve definitely seen some non-US news sources convert to US common units based on my locale. I’d much prefer they just clearly state what they’re using, especially like here where it’s just a matter of adding one character - similar to time where it’s adding three characters for the time zone.

                It’s not even necessarily a US centric view asking for it - taking the high road here: anyone in the US interested in science is used to seeing both common and metric units. it’s really no big deal to switch back and forth. Just be aware there are multiple possibilities and indicate which you’re using.

    • @Zip2@feddit.uk
      link
      fedilink
      English
      117 months ago

      You’re right. Everything should be in degrees kelvin by default. Problem solved.

    • @Allero@lemmy.today
      link
      fedilink
      English
      17 months ago

      I agree clarification never hurts, but the entire world except for ~4% of highly entitled population will read that right.

      • @cheddar@programming.dev
        link
        fedilink
        English
        -57 months ago

        Given that a lot of English language media are either located in the US or target the US market, I’d expect the value to be expressed in Fahrenheit unless stated otherwise.

        • @Allero@lemmy.today
          link
          fedilink
          English
          27 months ago

          Original article is about Asia, and Lemmy is an international platform, so neither applies here

          I don’t mind some actually regional things presented in whatever system they use in there - although I’d much prefer if we’d all go metric already. C’mon!

          • @cheddar@programming.dev
            link
            fedilink
            English
            17 months ago

            The original article is not about Asia, it’s about a technical innovation. Regardless, although we’re on an international platform, it’s easy to see that many topics are US-centered, and many sources too - regardless of the subject.

            • @Allero@lemmy.today
              link
              fedilink
              English
              47 months ago

              “Asia&Japan Watch” is right under their name.

              This topic is not centered in the US by any metric. It’s just an example of a Lemmy bias.

              • @cheddar@programming.dev
                link
                fedilink
                English
                -17 months ago

                a lot of English language media are either located in the US or target the US market

                or target the US market

                So regardless of the website’s name or origin, it could be an English language outlet targeted at the US audience. Which is quite common. Which is why I explicitly added this remark to the comment you initially replied.

                So why are we back here? What exactly are you trying to prove? All I said that I’d expect a value to be expressed in Fahrenheit unless stated otherwise. I didn’t say that you should do that, or that’s somewhat objective. I was simply arguing that despite only ~4% of population using Fahrenheit, it has much more influence due to the listed factors.

        • @Allero@lemmy.today
          link
          fedilink
          English
          6
          edit-2
          7 months ago

          Fair, my bad! Sorry if it was offensive.

          I just got a little sick of all the Fahrenheit (and also Imperial) domination around here. This, in turn, is often left without clarification, despite the system being way less popular.

          Lemmy as a platform is extremely America-centric, despite having tons of folks from everywhere else, which is aggravating in the long run. World really, really doesn’t all revolve around land of the free.

          • @rottingleaf@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            17 months ago

            Being from Russia, I’m fine with people using the units they are more confident with or used to.

            (Not specifying units may be a bit confusing, but then people here don’t say\write “it’s 20 degrees Celsius” either.)

            • @Allero@lemmy.today
              link
              fedilink
              English
              -1
              edit-2
              7 months ago

              Russian-languaged media is not commonly consumed by someone living under imperial/Fahrenheit system, so it’s only natural.

              For English, it might make sense to at least always add Celsius in parentheses, unless it’s highly regional news.

              Also, привет российским леммиводам :D

          • @Zip2@feddit.uk
            link
            fedilink
            English
            37 months ago

            Metric ton of folks or colonial? Please clarify.

            I agree though, that’s why I like posting conversions from time to time on other posts that are US defaults.

        • DarkThoughts
          link
          fedilink
          -77 months ago

          The attitude comes from Americans expecting the world circling around them.

          • @IamAnonymous@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            57 months ago

            The comment asked to list out the units which is a common thing to do. You don’t list out a scientific value without its units. They didn’t say list it out for Americans. Maybe the study was done in the US and they listed it in F. How would you know? So who came in here with an attitude?

            • DarkThoughts
              link
              fedilink
              -47 months ago

              No, they converted it to Fahrenheit because that’s what they use & expect to be clarified upon.

              • @IamAnonymous@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                37 months ago

                No, they first listed the units which is Celsius and then converted it themselves and didn’t excepted it to be converted. No one is complaining that it’s not in F but rather that the units are missing.

    • @ZealousSealion@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      English
      07 months ago

      Why would it be anything else?

      It’s clearly too low a number to be °K. And since the only two valid units of measurement for temperature are Kelvin and Celsius, it must be °C.

      • @remer@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        7
        edit-2
        7 months ago

        A differential temperature of 12C is equal to a differential temperature of 12K…… You don’t take the offset into account for differential temperatures.

  • @Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    267 months ago

    Twelve degrees what? A degree Celsius is more than twice a degree in Fahrenheit.

    State your units, FFS.

    • WIZARD POPE💫
      link
      fedilink
      English
      137 months ago

      I will assume celsius since the IR image shows around 45 and 35 degrees in direct sunlight.

    • Echo Dot
      link
      fedilink
      English
      17 months ago

      The scientific consensus is that unless otherwise stated it’s Celsius.

      In scientific papers you just write 14° you don’t need to specify the unit.

      So I’m just going to use that rule and assume Celsius.

      • @callouscomic@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        87 months ago

        I mean, if you’re a middle age bro with a retail supervisor job compensating to show off to teen girls, I guess.

        • @Psythik@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          3
          edit-2
          7 months ago

          I see, thanks for pointing out that I’m a stereotype. FML

          TBF, the 350Z was the sports car to have when I was a teenager. Not my fault that I can only afford one just now in my mid-30s, haha. I blame Ronald Regan for screwing over working-class citizens. If I had the money my parents had, I’d be driving an EV by now.

          (edit: and FWIW I’m in a happy relationship with an adult woman similar to my age)

      • @frezik@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        3
        edit-2
        7 months ago

        I had a 370Z. Basically the same chassis with a bigger engine.

        Feels like sitting in a bathtub. It’s got a heavy ass flywheel that makes the V6 feel as smooth as a V8, but with predictable effects on responsiveness. You can cut the fly weight in half and it’s still perfectly good to run on the street without issues.

        I traded it in for an Miata NC and never looked back. Sure, the Z has more power, but it doesn’t make good use of it the way a Miata does.

        • @Psythik@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          2
          edit-2
          7 months ago

          Funny you mention that; I had the opportunity to buy an ND Miata for $5K more. Went with the 350Z instead. Now your comment is making me second guess myself, even though I love how the 350 handles.

          It glides through corners so damn well, I can’t possibly imagine it getting any better than this, but you “Miata is always the answer” people always come of the woodwork and make me second guess my decision. The low horsepower figures always got to me. But now I’m thinking that maybe I should have just taken the damn test drive before falling in love with the Z.

      • @Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        47 months ago

        There’s a very long list of two door sports cars I’d buy instead of one of those bloated excuses.

        • @Psythik@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          17 months ago

          I’d like to see that list, cause I’m I’m considering selling the car in a year or two. Requirements: 2 doors, convertable, 300+ BHP, manual transmission, stability control (cause I’m a bad driver lol), under $15K.

            • @Psythik@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              17 months ago

              Already considered all of those before buying the Z. None of them meet my horsepower requirements. And the last time I checked, they don’t make a convertible WRX and BRZ/FRS/86.

  • @Buffalox@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    337 months ago

    I seriously doubt that, tests have been performed comparing black and white painted cars, and the difference was insignificant. The heat buildup in a car is due to the the sunlight entering through the windows.

    • @nyctre@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      87 months ago

      Could you link one of these? All the ones that I can find say there’s quite a bit of a difference

      • @Buffalox@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        7
        edit-2
        7 months ago

        OK I’ll link the danish test, this test is done with 2 cars that are identical, except for the color of the paint:

        https://livsstil.tv2.dk/2018-05-24-bliver-en-sort-bil-varmere-i-solen-end-en-hvid-tv-2-har-lavet-testen

        Konklusionen er altså, at den sorte bil ikke varmes mærkbart mere op end den hvide.

        Translation:
        The conclusion is that the black car does not heat up noticeably more in the sun than the white.

        So it does a little bit that you can measure, but not enough to really make a difference.

        Det skyldes ifølge Christian Bahl, seniorforsker hos DTU Energi, at bilerne opvarmes gennem ruderne.

        According to Christian Bahl senior researcher at DTU energy, that is because the cars are heated through the windows.
        (DTU is a well recognized institution for scientific research in Denmark.)

        • @nyctre@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          37 months ago

          Maybe the fact that the experiment was done when outside were only 20-22 degrees made the difference less noticeable? Otherwise I can’t explain why all the other tests I’ve found said the difference was 5-10+ degrees.

      • @Buffalox@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        1
        edit-2
        7 months ago

        Sorry can’t find it, all I can find in english are some where the data isn’t clear.
        If a white car has brighter interior it will stay slightly cooler, I cannot find a test where everything is the same except the color of the car.
        What I can say however, is that the test I saw was performed in Denmark. It’s possible countries with hotter climates may observe some difference?

        Obviously the main source of heat is what enters through the windows, and how much is reflected out again does have an influence.,

        If a white car has white seats and interior, they will obviously not heat as much as black seats and interior.

        The white color on the exterior will also reflect more light into the car, except maybe at noon.

        Edit PS:
        I linked the danish test in a new response.

        • Jojo, Lady of the West
          link
          fedilink
          English
          17 months ago

          Obviously the main source of heat is what enters through the windows, and how much is reflected out again does have an influence.,

          A lot of things seem obvious but turn out not to be, or not as much as I’ve first thought. Hence the usefulness of data and studies rather than mere reasoning.

    • @BallShapedMan@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      307 months ago

      To add to your comment, ceramic window tint is a night and day difference. My steering wheel, shifter, and all couldn’t be touched after work. I wore driving gloves to get home. With the tint there slightly warm and the AC doesn’t take half the drive to catch up, the car is cool by the first stop light.

      Maybe they should sell cars with that by default instead?

        • @model_tar_gz@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          11
          edit-2
          7 months ago

          Yes. It contains ceramic nano particles that reflect UV without interfering with visibility.

          edit: I meant IR. But it reflects both.

    • @Venator@lemmy.nz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      -27 months ago

      They should install automated blinds like some high end luxury cars have except make them out of that silvery windscreen sunshade stuff.

  • @marx2k@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    127 months ago

    As someone living in Wisconsin with salty road winters, I’ll say that Nissan’s reputation is mostly trash here based specifically on their paint

    • Onno (VK6FLAB)
      link
      fedilink
      English
      237 months ago

      It’s staggering to me the number of black cars being sold in hot countries like Australia. Not to mention just how hard they are to see against the background of a bitumen road.

    • @14th_cylon@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      807 months ago

      This is because the substance artificially reproduces a process known as radiative cooling on the painted surface. A typical example of radiative cooling is a phenomenon where the ground releases heat to cool off.

      Nissan worked with the Chinese enterprise Radi-Cool as it specializes in the creation of radiative cooling technologies and materials.

      (…)

      However, one obstacle remains: the paint is six times thicker than the usual coating on the car body surface. The substance is also more expensive, which would add to the total cost of a new vehicle.

      That, in turn, makes it difficult for the coating material to be utilized for mass-produced passenger automobiles.

      For this reason, Nissan is looking to commercialize the paint on ambulances and other specialized vehicles as the first step.

      • @ace_garp@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        137 months ago

        …the paint is six times thicker than the usual coating on the car body surface… looking to commercialize the paint on ambulances and other specialized vehicles as the first step.

        This is the best part of the article.

        After driving ambulance during Australian summers, in the Great Victorian Desert, this would assist so much with operating temperatures. A literal life-saver, if the AC ever broke, also.

      • @boonhet@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        357 months ago

        However, one obstacle remains: the paint is six times thicker than the usual coating on the car body surface. The substance is also more expensive, which would add to the total cost of a new vehicle.

        That, in turn, makes it difficult for the coating material to be utilized for mass-produced passenger automobiles.

        With 6 times thicker paint there’s a chance it also wouldn’t rust like a proper Nissan and we can’t have that, now can we

    • nomad
      link
      fedilink
      English
      27 months ago

      Veeerry reflective white paint. Probably not street legal