Understanding Radiant Barrier Insulation

To understand radiant barriers, let’s first see how heat transfer occurs. There are four main culprits responsible for heat entering and leaving your home that you might be overlooking:

• Attic
• Walls
• Crawl space
• Ducts

None of these are part of your living space but have a significant impact on the internal temperature and air quality of your home. Radiant barrier insulation prevents heat from pretreating your home during the summer. It also helps retain more heat during the winter months.

How? Because its reflective, light-colored surface repels the sun’s heat. Usually, radiant barriers are reflective on both sides. Internally, the same reflective surface keeps heat from the HVAC system circulating inside.

A radiant insulation barrier is your first defense against keeping heat out when it’s hot and inside when it’s chilly. It works on the principle that “prevention is better than cure” by reducing the heat transfer between the outside atmosphere and your home indoors.

Radiant insulation barriers won’t keep out all the heat. Some will still penetrate through into your attic. But if your attic heats up to around 150º F without radiant barrier insulation, it should be around 100-90º F with it.

Without a radiant barrier, your attic insulation will heat up from the sun during summer. Your HVAC unit will then have the double duty of cooling down the insulation material and your entire living space.

Reducing your energy bill is a team effort. Here are the three players that ensure your HVAC system is working in the most energy-efficient way possible:

• Adequate ventilation
• Radiant barrier
• Insulation

A radiant barrier stops the main chunk of heat from entering your attic. Insulation on your attic floor is how you ensure no conductive heat penetrates down further into your home. Ventilation is how you get any radiant heat back outside.

Radiant barriers make your attic insulation even more productive, regardless of the type of insulation you have. Meaning pre-installed insulation or insulation put in along with your radiant barrier.

The answer is both. Radiant barriers and insulation are a power couple. Here’s how the two act differently:

• The radiant barrier keeps the heat outside with its light color and reflective properties, even though it contains very little insulating material. Insulation, however, is designed to maintain your home’s internal temperature and reduce heat leaks as much as possible.
• During the summer months, a radiant barrier is your first defense against heat getting in. But during the colder months, its insulation primarily retains heat from your HVAC system and keeps your living spaces comfortably toasty.

Even though a radiant barrier and insulation work together towards a common goal, they can’t replace each other. Both systems are essential to your HVAC unit giving its most efficient performance.

You might be wondering if you should invest in a radiant barrier for your home. Here are some benefits you stand to gain by investing in one:

Less energy usage isn’t just good for your pocket. It’s great for the environment too. Global warming is causing temperatures to hit record lows and highs. You can do your part and reduce the carbon emissions produced by your home by investing in technology such as radiant barrier insulation. Lightning your HVAC unit’s load helps you in two ways:

• Your HVAC unit will need less frequent and detailed maintenance.
• you help conserve energy by cooling and heating your living space more efficiently.

One of the best things about getting radiant barrier insulation is their discretion. You don’t have to remodel your home or clear your schedule to install it. In most cases, installation takes less than a day.

Single-sided or double-sided highly reflective foil sheeting is the most widely used radiant barrier material. Typically, it’s available in rolls of different widths and lengths. Installation is pretty straightforward. It’s crucial to ensure proper ventilation when using foil sheets so that radiant heat transfers outside.

For smaller and difficult-to-access attics, small chips made of radiant barrier material are used to form a layer over the attic floor’s insulation. These chips often contain metals such as silver that help keep radiant heat at bay.

Foil sheets laminated on one or both sides of sheets of plywood are known as radiant barrier sheathing. These thin sheets are mostly installed during the construction phase of a building and protect against radiant heat.

The type of radiant barrier insulation most suited for your home depends on a few factors. Here are some things to consider when choosing the best radiant barrier for your home:

For homes with poor airflow, radiant barrier insulation can be an economical and long-term solution against radiant heat and heat leaks.

Installing radiant barrier insulation can help you save on your utility bills and help keep your home more comfortable year-round.

The amount of direct sunlight your home receives will impact the effectiveness of radiant barrier insulation. The more sun-exposure, the more drastic results you can expect.

Always consult a local expert to help you select the type of radiant barrier insulation for your area. Your investment won’t be useful if you don’t select the material according to the local climate. 

So you’ve invested and now want to maintain your home’s radiant barrier insulation to ensure top performance. Here are some easy things to make the most of your investment and keep the radiant barrier in optimal working condition:

Radiant barriers are prone to condensation during the colder months. The accumulated moisture reduces the efficiency of the radiant barrier insulation and allows more heat transfer.

Trapped moisture is also an issue. Condensation can trickle down and cause problems such as mold, triggering allergies and musky smells. Over the long run, it can even result in water damage in your living spaces. By using a perforated radiant barrier and ventilating your attic, you can avoid moisture-related problems.

Dust reduces the efficiency of radiant barrier insulation by absorbing heat instead of deterring it. Over time, dust accumulation reduces the reflectiveness of the radiant barrier insulation material. This problem can be easily remedied by simply wiping away dust once or twice a year to keep your radiant barrier in its best working condition.

Attic insulation, radiant barrier, and ventilation all work together to save energy and maintain your home’s temperature. For example, if there’s an issue with your attic ventilation, it’ll impact the radiant barrier and insulation performance.

One of the best practices that ensure your radiant barrier’s longevity and top performance is scheduling regular inspections from a competent name in the industry. Yearly home checks make it easier to stay on top of maintenance and prevent minor issues from becoming a large (and expensive!) nuisance.

Radiant barriers and insulation can seem overwhelming, so why don’t you leave it to the experts? Envirosmart Solutions has been helping homeowners like you in over 25 cities make better choices for their properties. Give us a call today for a free consultation and inspection.