Radiant Heat Barrier

Does your attic feel heated on summer days? There is no doubt about this. Most people find their attic, a living hell during summer. This is because the roof absorbs solar energy on a sunny day. This heats the sheathing of roof and results in heat radiation from roof framing and sheathing underside. The heat is radiated downward towards the attic floor. Thus, you may need a radiant heat barrier.

A hot attic is extremely uncomfortable and conducts heat into your house’s interior space. Under these circumstances, the attic becomes very uncomfortable. It also tends to conduct heat into your house’s interiors pace. The result is your air conditioner work hard; thereby increasing your electricity bills.

The sun is the major reason for hot attics. The heat radiated from the sun is known as radiant heat. The term radiant heat can also be used for heat that is transmitted from any heat source via space. You can easily feel this heat from distant objects such as fire.

A radiant heat barrier is a material usually installed in buildings in order to reduce heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter. These materials work towards heat build up and right usage of cooling energy.

A radiant heat barrier tends to reflect heat back to where it came from. It efficiently reflects as much as 97 percent. These barriers are specifically designed in a manner to block harmful effects of radiant heat in homes. The process is undertaken via reflecting heat and not absorbing it. Hence, this barrier is capable of providing significant amount of energy.

Once, a radiant heat barrier is positioned aptly in the attic, a good amount of heat is radiated from the heated roof and then reflected back towards the roof. The process keeps the top surface of insulation cool, thereby reducing the amount of heat that moves via insulation inside the rooms under the ceiling.

Several studies have shown that a radiant heat barrier can decrease the cooling bill by about five to ten per cent, especially used in warm or sunny climates.

Highly reflective surfaces are extremely effective in reducing heat gains. Traditional forms of insulation available tend to absorb a lot of radiant heat energy.

Radiant heat barrier comes with a thin yet highly reflective material coating. The coating is applied to either one or both sides. They are capable of reducing indoor heat loss via the ceiling during winter. The best part is that these barriers can even reduce heat gains during winter.

The materials it is composed of contribute the immense popularity of radiant heat barrier. These materials are efficient at reflecting heat and very poor at absorbing heat.

With so many benefits of installing a radiant heat barrier, you should absolutely have no doubt about its efficiency. No matter how old your house is or the amount of insulation, you have for your house, adding one of these barriers will definitely help you reduce a significant amount on heating and cooling bills.

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