Radiant Barrier
Protect Your Home and Business By Taking Control of Your Insulation!
Protecting Your Home With A Radiant Barrier
A radiant barrier is a barrier usually installed in an attic that helps reduce cooling and heating costs. In the summer, this barrier acts as a reflectant, pushing the heat from the sun back out to the environment as opposed to letting it invade your home. In the winter, it helps keep the warm air inside and keeps the cool air from getting into your home. Corpus Christi not only gets hot in the summer, but we always have high humidity here on the coast. These radiant barriers will help keep your home feeling less like the outdoors and more like you want it to feel.
Breaking Down How it Works
When you place a spoon in a cup of hot coffee or hot chocolate, the spoon conducts heat from the liquid through the handle up into your hand. Similarly, heat in the air travels the same way through available materials. Radiant barriers work to reduce this radiant heat exposure by slowing how conductive your roof is to the heat of the outside world.
The reason your attic becomes hot when the sun is out is because of the sun’s radiant energy and the conductivity of your roof. Once your roof conducts this energy into the attic, any and all surfaces can become warm, making your house less energy efficient. The radiant barrier is installed on the underside of your roof, keeping the inside of your attic cool and energy-efficient.
The radiant barrier is reflective in nature, meaning it needs to face an air space to be effective. Anything standing in the way of its reflectibility will hinder its ability to work properly. Dust can even affect its performance, so it’s important to have a professional, like one here at CCAC Air Conditioning (CCAC), install the barrier to minimize dust collection.
Radiant barriers work best in hot areas where the air ducts are located in the attic. These barriers can reduce your heating and cooling costs – and even make it more sensible to downgrade your system.
Why You Should Have a Radiant Barrier Installed
You know how radiant barriers work, and you know some of the benefits. But now let’s break it down even further. Radiant barriers:
- Reduce heat transfer from attics to living areas, keeping your house cool.
- Not only make your AC unit work less but keep it working without repair for longer.
- Keeps your energy bill lower than without a radiant barrier.
- Are not suitable for insect inhabitation.
- Are not suitable for mold or bacteria growth.
- Don’t require maintenance
If you notice your house gets extra hot in the summer and your AC unit is working overtime, it’s time to call CCAC for a radiant barrier quote. Investing in a radiant barrier will save you money on your energy bill and prolong the life of your AC system. Contact us today to schedule a radiant barrier installation appointment!
