Condensors white or silver?

There is, but that's not it.

okay, then there's a reason that electronics use it

Air circulation outweighs radiation. Do you see air conditioner coils painted black? If one had to put the coils in the sun, I would use a high heat silver paint, which are usually thin coats. It's not just the coils heating from the sun, it's the whole back, warming up the air which is supposed to be cooling things down. Just painting the back surface would help out, not touching the coils. Or best. Shade.

I think some backs are white, with black coils.

Greg

There sure is. They don't use it because it's cheaper than tin.

No, because the color, as seen by humans, is irrelevant. You're right, though, conduction and (forced) convection a far larger factors than emissivity.

Again, the "color" in the visible spectrum isn't important unless the surface is emitting in the visible range (incandescing).

Yes, but that's still irrelevant. It's used in electronics because it conducts electricity well and resists corrosion, not because of heat conduction (or at least it's a minor factor).

How do you know that black paint doesn't radiate and absorb infrared better too? Because it's not visible, you can't tell by looking but you can by feeling.

I know that when I had a convertible with a black top, it was hot as hell in there after it sat in the sun. Once I caught on, I've had light green once and tan several time and it's almost comfortable even after sitting in the mid-summer sun.

Similarly a black steering wheel is hot enough to hurt one's hands when the inside of the car is hot. No other color I've had is. And the black seats would burn the inside of my thighs when I wore shorts, but tan and white don't do that.

And my home, which may well not have enough insulation in the attic, was too hot to go upstairs when I had a dark shingle roof, even with a roof fan. . The new roof is medium brown and it's comfortable now with just a fan in the bedroom (and the roof fan) . However I used to use the heat from the attic to warm the upstairs in the late fall and early spring. That doesn't work anymore, because it doesn't get as hot up there.

And the son of the owner of one of the two biggest department stores in Indianapolis (Block's) built a house next to his parents on their beautiful lot overlooking the White River. He had dark shingles and 1 or 2 months later in the summer they were replaced with white shingles. It was clear to me that dark shingles made it too hot inside.

Exactly. An awning. As easy as a piece of thick cardboard sitting partly on top of the fridge with something to hold it down. Or a tarp. And if painting it did help, which it won't, it would hurt the fridge when you put it back inside.

I would NOT paint the lines, those lines need to be able to shed has much heat as possible. Consider adding an extra cardboard/FRP/metal back to keep the sun off the coils, leave plenty of space for air movement.

it also reflects light (therefore heat) better than almost anything else

Any direct sunlight on the refrigerator (condenser or elsewhere) will unnecessarily increase operating expense.

Erik

This ranks right up there with the debate on covering windows with aluminum foil: Shiny side facing out or facing in.

His parents house was old and grand. It was built, I think, before home air-conditioning was invented, and I'm sure used a lot of design features to keep it cool in the hot weather, including being shaded by many trees. I suspect he was used to haviing the windows open and when he married and built his own home, he still wanted his windows open and no AC on most summer days, and so the dark hot roof was a real problem for him. The builders chose roof color for style, but he wanted white for comfort. And he had the money to change roofs a short time after the house was built. And why shouldn't he, since the roof lasted 20 years Ithink even then., 1962

Here's the google maps address of his house. 39.866245,-86.162188

I think it's the big white roof.;

Same as hats, I would assume.

You don't. That's the point. The color in visible light has little to do with its emissivity at the (much) longer wavelengths. "White" paint might be much better.

So was my white car. So? See below.

So do my "cream" colored leather seats. So? See below.

Well, you do know that the sun emits energy in the visible range, right?

Ah, because it was the White River, it was cool in the summer, right?

See above.

electricity well and resists corrosion, not because of heat conduction (or at least it's a minor factor).

It can also be vapor deposited to form a transparent, electrically conductive, surface. This can be useful for heating a glass substrate (think: clearing fog).

Wrong.

or on a parabolic reflector (not transparent) to gather more efficiently especially at low light levels

for those inclined to make such a solar water heater/cooker

I was working on the bright shiny galvanized roof on my shed. It's was too hot to rest my hands on. I should try and measure temp of shingles next to it attaching garage. I got more cool or cold days in my climate, but my insulation on the house part is sufficient to overcome roof temp.

Greg