Fabric That Reflects the Sun for Boats or Houses

Thermal Barrier Fabric

• Thermal barriers are designed to prevent the sun from penetrating your home or boat during the hot summer months. The fabric also provides protection from heat loss in the winter, which keeps your home warmer and lowers your heating bills. When used as a canopy over the patio of a house or deck of a boat, thermal barrier fabric may cut surface temperatures by more than 50 degrees.

Radiant Barrier Fabric

• Similar in design and appearance to thermal barrier fabric, radiant barrier fabric offers a softer, more pliable alternative. This type of fabric is commonly used in coats and in the bags carried by pizza delivery persons. If you want to keep your boat cooled off when it’s not in use, you can also find boat covers made of radiant barrier fabric. The fabric is designed to block over 90 percent of the sun's heat.

Solar Curtains

• Solar curtains include sun-reflecting fabrics that are typically incorporated on the side of the curtain that faces out. The interior of the curtain comes in multiple design options, so you don’t have to surrender style for energy-efficiency.

White Fabrics

• While they don’t provide the same level of sun-reflection as specially designed metallic fabrics, white fabrics do reflect the sun. That’s why many outdoor tarps and canopies come in light colors. To get decent sun-reflection from white fabric, though, the fabric must be thick enough not to allow light through the surface. Heavy fabrics, such as leatherette, for instance, reflect more light than cotton or polyester.