Radiative charaacteristics of glass windows and porous absorbing media which can be used for a solar air heater are determined through the measurements of spectral transmittances. Those in the visible range are measured by the UV-IR spectrometer. Refractive index of glass are obtained by the comparison of the measured transmittances and the correlations derived from the electromagnetic theory and are compared to the theoretical ones calculated from the classical dispersion theory. Absorption and back-scattering coefficients of 15-mesh stainless wire screens are calcuated by the comparison of the measured transmittances and the correlations derived from the two flux model.