Emissivity is a measure of a material’s ability to emit infrared energy. It is measured on a scale from just above 0.00 to just below 1.00.

Generally, the closer a material’s emissivity rating is to 1.00, the more that material tends to absorb reflected or ambient infrared energy and emit only its own infrared radiation. Most organic materials, including the byproducts of plants and animals, have an emissivity rating of 0.95.