Radiant Barrier Shield Installers in Tyler, Texas

A radiant barrier reflects radiant heat energy instead of trying to absorb it.

What does this mean in your home or business?

During the winter, 50-75% of heat loss happens through the ceiling/roofing system and 65-80% of heat loss happens through walls. In the summer, up to 93% of heat gain is radiant.

If you are depending on R-value (resistance) alone to insulate against heat gain and loss, remember that traditional forms of insulation are virtually transparent to radiant energy and are affected by changes in humidity (moisture levels). A 1-1/2% change in the moisture content of fiberglass insulation will result in a 36% decrease in performance (referenced from HVAC Manual 10.6; McGraw-Hill).

A pure aluminum radiant barrier is unaffected by humidity and will continue to perform at a consistent level no matter how humid it may be.

Covering your attic insulation with Radiant Barrier Shield keeps heat in the house.

Radiant Barrier Shield reflects the sun’s heat before it can warm up the insulation in your attic. When the insulation stays cooler, your house stays cooler.

There are a lot of different opinions, concerns, and questions on where and how to install the radiant barrier.

Since 1989, Energy Improvements has put in tens of millions of square feet of radiant barrier across the country, and the Department of Energy currently supports 5 different installation methods.

At Energy Improvements we install the radiant barrier either on the rafters or on top of the insulation.

However, we install over the insulation in about 90% of cases.

We not only recommend this method based of the research from top universities and organizations, but we found by installing on the rafters you lose the following benefits:

• Fire Safety: Unfortunately we have had 5 customers who have had various house fires since 1989. In every case the fire fighters and even insurance representatives have made huge statements how Energy Improvements’ Radiant Barrier Shield has kept the fire from spreading. Also, in a few cases, it helped save lives. By installing this on the rafters this benefit would have been lost.
• Lose Winter Benefit: The warmer and lighter air will escape past the insulation and your warm attic. At the same time, the denser, cooler air will fall into your living space.
• Damage Roof Shingles: It has been shown that after applications will literally heat your shingles up and will keep them ten degrees warmer than the outside temperature. This has led to some shingle warranty being voided.
• Proven More Savings: Multiple studies have shown that you will save more on your utility bills with the shield installed on top of the insulation.
• More Labor & Material: Finally, it takes more labor and material to do a rafter job. So in closing, if you decide to go with the rafter application, you will ultimately pay more on labor and materials. It has been proven you will receive less energy savings in the long run.

No. In fact, research has confirmed that summertime attic temperatures will be much cooler with Radiant Barrier Shield in place.

No. Radiant Barrier Shield actually makes your present insulation more effective.

No. The tiny holes in Radiant Energy Shield allow moisture to escape from your regular insulation.

Regardless of how much insulation you have in your attic, adding Radiant Shield could save on your heating and cooling expenses, and keep you much more comfortable.

Energy savings can range from 20% – 30% depending on a number of factors, including climate, building configuration, materials, site, family size and lifestyle.

The Florida Solar Energy Center at Cape Canaveral has tested radiant barriers in both small scale laboratories and in full scale building models.

Their results indicate that radiation barriers like Radiant Barrier Shield can provide significant resistance to heat transfer.

Tests conducted by the Tennessee Valley Authority, Oak Ridge Laboratories in Tennessee, and the University of Mississippi support the findings from the Florida Solar Energy Center.

Northeastern Illinois University conducted winter tests in residential and commercial structures using infra-red thermographic photography. The photos show significant resistance to heat transfer over regular insulation.

At Energy Improvements we are asked, “How does a radiant barrier differ from attic insulation?” This is a great question.

In order to understand the difference between Radiant Barrier and conventional attic insulation, you will need to know how heat transfers. There are three types of heat transfer:

• Conduction: Conduction happens when two solid objects touch each other. Heat is transferred through the objects. A good example is when the stove gets hot, heat gets transferred to the teapot.
• Convection: When the air is warm, warm air expands and rises.
• Radiation: Radiant heat, the movement of heat from a warm space to a cool space. A good example, heat from a fire moving towards the colder areas surrounding the fire.

Insulation works with heat similar to how a sponge works with water. If we pour water into a sponge it can only hold a certain amount of water before it begins to leak from the bottom.

Insulation works by trapping air in millions of air pockets. It will slow down the heat.

However, when your insulation becomes too full, the heat will continue onto the cooler regions in your house.

Traditional insulation is an important part of battling the heat transfer. The higher the R-Value the greater the insulating effectiveness.

According to the Departments of Energy, “the still air(in insulation) is an effective insulator because it eliminates convection and has low conduction.”

Did you notice there is no mention of traditional insulation stopping radiant heat transfer? NASA had to deal with radiant heat when astronauts could go from two hundred degrees below zero in the shade to two hundred degrees above in the sun.

In order to protect the astronauts and the vital electronics inside the spaceship they created the Radiant Barrier. Radiant barrier works off two main principles.

• Reflectivity: Heat is reflected back from where it came from. Aluminum is reflected on the hot side. The Energy Improvements Shield Radiant Barrier has 97% reflectivity.
• Emissivity: Radiant barriers work off the emissivity. Which means the amount of heat that can pass through from the hot side to the cool side. Energy Improvements Shield Radiant Barrier only allows 3% of radiant heat to pass through.

In the summer up to 93% of heat gain is radiant heat. Even the Departments of Energy acknowledges that traditional insulation doesn’t stop radiant heat transfer. It can only stop convection and conduction.

This means your air conditioner has to run longer in order to cool the excessive heat entering your home.

In the winter your house will lose up to 75% of the radiant heat. This transfer will happen and it does not matter if you have fiberglass, Rock wool, or any other style of insulation.

Insulation does not stop radiant heat transfer. NASA found what stops radiant heat, and that is a Radiant Barrier.

It is also proven that a Radiant Barrier will outperform four to seven feet of conventional insulation. There is no comparison to real bottom line results.