Radiant Barrier
A radiant barrier is basically insulation which is applied to the inside of your roof in order to block radiant heat from making your home too hot. They are used to help reduce the energy costs involved in trying to make your home cooler such as air conditioning. Traditionally, radiant barriers have been used in warm climates for this purpose but more recently they have become more popular in colder climates to help stop heat from escaping from the home in the winter.
Radiant heat will travel extremely fast until it is either reflected or absorbed. If you live in a hot climate, your roof can absorb heat from the sun and then this causes your home to heat up to unbearable levels which will require you to use your air conditioning unit to expel this uncomfortable heat.
A radiant barrier will help to stop this radiant heat from entering the house. It actually reflects the heat back out before it is absorbed by the insulation in your attic. This can help you to save money as you do not have to pay to get rid of the heat because you have prevented it from entering the house.
So how does it work in a cold climate or in the winter? One of the basic principles of temperature is that heat is always transferred from warm to cold. This means that when you are heating your home up in the winter, that the heat is moving from the warm interior of your house to the cold outside. The way houses are built is designed to reduce the amount of heat which is lost through the walls but the attic can pose different problems altogether. While most walls have an inner and outer layer of insulation, roofs usually only have that barrier on the inside. This can prove to be ineffective because the air moves around inside the inner insulation.
Installing a radiant barrier can help to minimise these problems by reducing the amount of heat lost and by reducing the amount of air moving around in the inner insulation of your attic. You can place the radiant barrier across the insulation you already have in your attic and it will work to keep the heat inside the house. This will help you to reduce the energy costs of heating your home. A radiant barrier is similar to a wind breaker in that it stops the cold air from the attic from mixing with the warm air which is near the ceiling, thus reducing the loop of air which is continuously moving through the insulation.
One important point to note however when installing a radiant barrier in a cold climate is to make sure that you choose one that is perforated in order to allow any moisture to escape. If moisture cannot pass through the barrier, it could cause mould and damp. A radiant barrier will help you to keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer and will reduce your energy bills.
