Will painting A/C roof covers BLACK hinder performance

[woody92354]

If I paint my a/c & reefer roof covers black, will this hinder cooling efficiencies too much when parked in full sun? Just thought black might update m/h looks some.

[SarahW]

Hi woody and welcome. The A/C covers on our coach are all black; they came that way. I don't believe painting them will be an issue as long as you choose the right type of paint for the surface.

[450Donn]

Only downside I can think of is that there will be a lot more heat buildup that will need to be dissipated somewhere. Remember the old adage, white reflects heat, black absorbs heat.

[Bee950]

Mine came from the factory black.

[bluepill]

Minimal effect. Possibly at startup the built-up heat will slow down the cooling for under a minute, but as the air continues to flow through the condensor coils it should make no difference.

[Hipshot]

Mine are black and I had no problen with AC when it was 104 last summer. I plan to paint my MAX Air II covers black in the spring, just for looks. If you find a good paint for plastic or whatever these things are made of let us know. It will save me some research.

[Don/Lou]

Krylon makes a paint for plastics !

[az bound]

Krylon Fusion is made for plastics.

[TXiceman]

The black will absorb a bit more heat, but the effect on the A/c unit will be minimal.

One thing that will help is to remove the cover and use a good grade of the aluminum tape and seal all of the seams and junctions on the air handing unit. Now go inside and remove the inside cover and seal all of the seams again.

The manufacturers have really gotten sloppy sealing the units properly.

Ken

[zzzs]

I have to believe that the air conditioner will be more efficient with a white cover than a black one when in direct sun light. The primary purpose of the condenser is to get rid of heat. Black absorbs more heat from the sun than white.

[TXiceman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzzs I have to believe that the air conditioner will be more efficient with a white cover than a black one when in direct sun light. The primary purpose of the condenser is to get rid of heat. Black absorbs more heat from the sun than white.

With the volume of air going through the unit, the difference will not be measurable without lab equipment. The biggest killer will be sun directly on the condenser coil.

Ken

[BigV]

Biggest killer of A/C performance is dirt.

Just clean them once a year and don't worry about it.

[sc3283]

Black is always hotter than white........White for me

[Mr_D]

No idea if it will hurt, we ordered ours painted from the factory, but they're gold.