I am after many years at a point where I can have my own Bee Hives. I am painting my boxes as White as I can even with extra Titanium Oxide to the max the exterior Latex Paint can handle after sealing and priming.
The reason for this is the nature of WHITE. My background is nuclear power in submarines and a second career as a "Master" of HVAC and Refrigeration hear in Georgia, USA. IT IS HOT AND HUMID IN GEORGIA in Summer, and Miserable humid cold in Winter. WHITE allows for the coolest surface temperatures and therefore coolest internal temperatures for the Bees in Summer cutting down on the need to haul water for cooling.
In the Winter the WHITE color reduces to a minimum the amount of heat lost through the walls of the Hive. This is the opposite of BLACK like in car radiators. Since I have design/built Environmental Rooms for CDC, and other LABS I have even considered precise HVAC systems for the Bee Hives.
