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Radiant
Barrier is a reflective insulation that is used to reflect
heat instead of slowly absorbing heat like conventional
insulations. Our Radiant Barrier reflects up to 97% of
radiant heat instead of up to 78% like the spray paints. (Physics of Radiant Barrier - a Deeper Understanding)
We typically install our radiant barrier directly on top
of the existing insulation but can install it to the rafters
if it is needed. When we install our radiant barrier to
the rafters, you can get great results in the summer time
but it will not do anything for you in the winter time.
When we install our radiant barrier on top of the attic
floor you can get great results in the summer and winter
time.
Also, testing by the TVA has shown that installing
the radiant barrier on top of the attic floor worked better
in the summer time than installing the radiant barrier to
the rafters. ( View Test Results)
Without getting too technical, the common sense reason for
this is that the ambient temperature between four to fifteen
feet of air space between the radiant barrier and the roof
deck would be much less than six inches of air space between
the radiant barrier and the roof deck. Radiant barrier
by itself is seldom the answer. All of the testing shows
that radiant barrier works in conjunction with ventilation.
Basically put, as the radiant barrier reflects the heat
up your ventilation pulls the heat out. It doesn’t matter
how you install the radiant barrier - if your ventilation
is not done right, then the radiant barrier will not perform
to its maximum potential and in some cases will not perform
at all. If a radiant barrier company does not stress ventilation,
look out. Many people ask how our radiant barrier compares
with other companies' radiant barrier, but with so many
radiant barrier companies out there, it's hard to figure
out what everyone else is using. There are a few things
about our radiant barrier that are important to us. First,
our radiant barrier is manufactured right here in the
U.S. Second, our radiant barrier is microperforated
throughout the material, unlike the ultra heavy radiant
barrier that’s too thick and the perforations are either
too small and will close up in high humidity or too large
and allow heat to pass through. Third, our material is tear-resistant
but is not so heavy that it weighs down your insulation
like some radiant barriers. And last but not least, our
radiant barrier is a true, two-sided, radiant barrier
reflecting up to 97% of radiant heat. (Manufacturer's
Specs click for details) Another common question is how
our radiant barrier compares with the spray paint barriers.
The spray paint barriers do not qualify to be called a radiant
barrier anymore than a car is qualified to be called a truck.
(Read about Radiant
Barrier vs Paint) Truth is sometimes hard to find
these days, and when you find it, there’s someone there
asking, "But what about this?". HeatBlockers is not here
to run other companies down or tell other companies how
to run their business, but if a company is going to lie
and misrepresent a product name or category, then they should
be called on it. ( Beware of Radiant Barrier
Paints.)
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Radiant
Barrier Installation
A typical attic
floor install takes about 20% more material than the square
footage of the attic space for material overlap and a typical
rafter install takes about 30% to 50% more material than
the square footage of the attic space. If you have raised
ceilings in your house, then you will also have raised sections
in your attic, or "knee walls" as we call them, that will
have to be covered. We refer to these sections as knee walls
because they typically come up to our knees. Depending on
the height of the knee walls, when a house has several sections
like this, it can take up to 30% material overlap when installing
the radiant barrier on top of the insulation. Another installation
that can be challenging to figure is a story and a half
house. Not only do you have attic space over the downstairs
and upstairs, but you also have to figure in the walls as
well.
Flooring in the attic is a big concern to most people
when installing the radiant barrier on top of the insulation,
but there’s really nothing to be concerned about. When we
install our radiant barrier on flooring, we staple it to
the flooring and crease the edge so that you can see where
the flooring stops. (If you would like us to paint the edge
of the flooring, we can, but it will diminish the reflectivity
of the product.) You can walk on our radiant barrier, and
it will not damage the material. You just don’t want to
go up into the attic in steel spiked golf shoes. As far
as storage is concerned, it's best if you keep it over the
garage area. You can store things on top of the radiant
barrier without damaging it; you just diminish its effectiveness.
As far as the ductwork in the attic is concerned, we typically
install our radiant barrier underneath the ducts; but if
the ductwork is on top of the insulation and not suspended,
then covering over the ducts with the radiant barrier is
a great idea.
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Effect of Dust on Radiant Barrier
There is a common misconception regarding the effect dust accumulation has on radiant barrier and its ability to reflect heat. There has not been any conclusive testing that shows there is any loss in reflectivity due to dust accumulation. Common sense would tell us that if a little bit of dust would affect the performance of a true radiant barrier, then there would be no way that a spray paint calling itself a radiant barrier could reflect heat through solid wood. The fact is, the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority click for report) is the only company that conducted a real test on radiant barrier and dust accumulation. The test concluded that there was no noticeable difference in reflectivity or performance between the radiant barrier with dust and the radiant barrier without dust.
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Ductwork
The
ductwork and plenum in your attic could be costing you quite
a bit of money. The ductwork and plenum in the attic play
important roles in your HVAC system. The plenum attaches
to the blower, and the ductwork carries the air from your
plenum to the registers inside your house. There is a lot
of air pressure inside the plenum and ductwork, and if
they are not sealed completely they will leak. Also, if
your plenum and ductwork are not properly insulated your
HVAC system will not run efficiently because of the
extreme temperatures in the attic. We’ve seen several instances
where the bedroom farthest away from the HVAC unit was the
hottest in the summer and the coldest in the winter due
to the fact that the duct serving that room was not sealed
to the plenum properly and was not insulated with a radiant
barrier. Simple solutions are often the best. Before
we install radiant barrier we inspect the ductwork and repair
as necessary (with the exception of mold) any rips or
tears and wrap them with radiant barrier and seal them.
We also check the plenum for leaks where the ductwork
attaches, and, if we find any leaks, we seal them.
This service is part of our standard installation of radiant
barrier. There
is no charge to seal the ductwork to the plenum.
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