Radiant Barrier Dallas, Radiant Barrier Houston

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.)

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.

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.

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.