During a sunny day the walls of my house warm up (no surprise). My question: how much of this warming up (if any) comes from visible light? I associate infrared with thermal energy. If my house was floating in space (to prevent any thermal exchange with its surroundings) and I installed a giant infrared (and UV) filter between it and the sun, would it still warm up (compared to its rest temperature in full darkness)? Thanks.
Answer
Yes, it would, though not as quickly as if you were getting the full spectrum of sunlight. All frequencies of the light spectrum carry energy, so it becomes a question of how much of that energy is absorbed by the house.
For example, if your house was completely black, all that visible light energy would be absorbed by the house and converted into heat. If it was completely white (or massively reflective), there would be almost no heat transfer whatsoever.
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