That shows you how much you’ll save per year. Review the bills from the warm months of the year and divide them in half. Go through your previous utility bills and do some basic math to get an idea of how much you’ll save, and then multiply that by the number of years you plan to stay in your home.įor example, experts say that heating/cooling accounts for about 50% of your utility costs. This can add up to a 17% savings in cooling costs during the warmest parts of the year. Department of Energy says that radiant barriers in the attic reduce solar geat gain from the roof by as much as 40%. A radiant barrier reduces the radiant heat transfer from the underside of the roof to the other surfaces in the attic. The hot roof material then radiates its gained heat energy onto the cooler attic surfaces, including the air ducts and the attic floor. Much of this heat travels by conduction through the roofing materials to the attic side of the roof. When the sun heats a roof, it's primarily the sun's radiant energy that makes the roof hot. Installing radiant heat barriers reflects solar heat gain rather than absorbs it, keeping it out of your home altogether.Īccording to the U.S. The term, Hot, is an understatement, and all that heat travels right through walls and into your living spaces, causing your HVAC to work overtime to maintain the cooler desired temperatures set on your thermostat. Department of Energy, your attic can reach temperatures of up to 150 degrees Fahrenheit if you don’t have a proper roof and attic design. Where vapor barriers work to mitigate the amount of moisture that makes its way into the home, causing interior moisture and humidity issues, radiant barriers protect your home from solar heat gain. In this post, we discuss radiant barrier basics. Our last post discussed the importance of using a moisture or vapor barrier in your crawl spaces.

The combination of your roof system, adequate attic design and insulation, and ventilation work together to keep conditioned air inside and regulate temperatures, so they don’t vary much from your preferred thermostat settings. Your attic is a key player when it comes to whole-home comfort and energy efficiency.

Radiant barrier attic