Why does nobody talk about how much heat a dark patio umbrella traps

Honestly, I was setting up my backyard for a BBQ last weekend and noticed the thermometer on my table read 98 degrees under my dark blue umbrella. I moved the same thermometer to a spot under a light tan umbrella I borrowed from my neighbor and it dropped to 85 degrees in about 10 minutes. Found out from a landscaping blog that dark fabrics absorb up to 90% of solar radiation while light colors reflect most of it. Has anyone else tested their umbrella color and seen a big temp difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

cole35629d ago

Oh man, that's wild. So are you saying the dark umbrella actually made your table hotter than just sitting in direct sun would have, or did you not test that? I'm curious if those dark umbrellas are basically turning your whole seating area into a little oven, because 98 degrees is brutal for just hanging out. Makes me wonder if people are accidentally making their patios worse by buying the popular darker colors.

ryan36929d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah absolutely @cole356, same thing happened with my dark blue umbrella, it was a total heat trap underneath.