Radiant Barrier Over Insulation

A radiant barrier can lower heat transfer from attics to the building below keep the attic space cooler and lower cooling costs by up to 17 in warmer climates.

Radiant barrier over insulation.

Super r radiant barrier and tempshield reflective insulation reflect 95 to 97 percent of the radiant heat entering or exiting a residence or commercial building. We take a look at how radiant barriers work the different types of radiant barriers and some of the. A warning about radiant barriers aka foil insulation radiant barrier insulation last week i received an email from a concerned reader who said his 85 year old mother in law had recently purchased a 2 500 radiant barrier insulation system for her 1 800 sf townhouse in austin mn. Radiant barrier foil is different than spray foam because atticfoil s reflectivity of radiant heat is 97 meaning you stop the heat from ever even entering the home.

Some studies show that radiant barriers can reduce cooling costs 5 to 10 when used in a warm sunny climate. Radiantguard radiant barrier foil insulation installed in an attics can reduce attic temperatures by up to 30 degrees when stapled with a staple gun to the underside of roof rafters by reflecting up to 97 of the radiant heat that strikes its surface thereby reducing heat. Radiant barriers are utilized to reduce summer heat gain in attics and help to improve the efficiency of green building envelopes. This method can be used in any climate though it historically has been most popular in colder climates.

This is probably the easiest method to install radiant barrier atticfoil is to lay the foil out over the existing insulation on the attic floor. Foam isn t going to perform like radiant barrier because like traditional insulation foam slows conductive heat gain loss but it doesn t actually stop it. To avoid condensation issues a perforated radiant barrier may be the best choice for this application. I ran across multiple studies during my research that found deductions in heat transfer from the conditioned space especially when the radiant barrier was layed across the attic floor over the insulation instead of being stapled to the rafters.

In practical terms super r will lower the temperature of your attic 22 28 degrees f and save up to 50 percent of your ac costs according to the department of energy. Radiant barrier installation attic radiant barrier installation most of the heat entering a home comes through the roof. Radiant barriers are more effective in hot climates than in cool climates especially when cooling air ducts are located in the attic. Laying foil over on top of insulation on the attic floor.

The list of uses includes crawl space radiant floor attic and walls. Reflectix insulation has over 20 energy saving applications for reflectix insulation has over 20 energy saving applications for around the home.