Radiant Barrier Roof Decking Worth It

The hot roof material then radiates its gained heat energy onto the cooler attic surfaces including the air ducts and the attic floor.

Radiant barrier roof decking worth it. There is a misconception that if the heat is coming in through the roof shingles and. Some of thefacts they list are. A radiant barrier is typically stapled to the bottom truss chords against the deck sheathing. Radiant barrier paint performed the worse providing a heat decrease in the conditioned space of around 19.

The extra cost to put the radiant barrier roof sheathing on a 2000 square foot new home is probably around 200. A radiant barrier reduces the radiant heat transfer from the underside of the roof to the other surfaces in the attic. Which type of radiant barrier is best. Benefits of radiant barrier sheathing.

A radiant barrier works best when it is perpendicular to the radiant energy striking it. Radiant barrier sheathing emits 3 5 of the heat it absorbs and can reducesummer heat gain in the roof from 16 to 42. Installing 19 inches of batt insulation or 22 of blown in is the single most cost effective way to reduce your heating and cooling costs. When utilizing osb radiant barrier sheathing you can reflect up to 97 of solar radiation which translates into an attic heat reduction of up to 30 f.

A control study was published in 2013 showing the radiant barrier effectiveness of paint foil backed sheathing and foil that was stapled onto the rafters. Specifications in selecting your radiant barrier sheathing make sure that the label indicated that the productemittance is less than 0 1 as measured by astm 1371. The answer is that there are other things you can do that would be more effective in terms of energy efficiency. Find out whether it s worth the money to install a radiant barrier in your attic.

For a picture of this in action you can check out the product listing on amazon. The results were very telling. A cooler attic space means less heat moving to the cooler space below the attic. A radiant barrier must have an emissivity of 0 1 or less to be effective.

However radiant barriers can also be installed in other ways such as having it infused with your roof decking or underneath tiles.