Radiant Barrier Insulation Roof Sheathing

Types of radiant barriers radiant barriers consist of a highly reflective material usually aluminum foil which is applied to one or both sides of a number of substrate materials such as kraft paper plastic films cardboard oriented strand board and air infiltration barrier material.

Radiant barrier insulation roof sheathing.

This basically allows for wood rot to continue and inspectors have a more difficult time finding areas of concern. How weyerhaeuser rbs works. The results were very telling. Which type of radiant barrier is best.

The radiant barrier reflects 95 of the radiant heat back to the roofing materials which then emits over 90 of the heat out the roof almost instantly. Radiant barrier paint performed the worse providing a heat decrease in the conditioned space of around 19. More energy is needed to cool the house and that means higher energy costs for homeowners. With no barrier to restrict the heat it radiates through the insulation into living spaces causing room temperatures to rise.

Radiant energy transferred through standard roof sheathing creates heat build up in the attic. Foil backed osb is applied mostly in attics. Florida solar energy center conducted a study on radiant barrier and shingle temperatures and found that the roof increased in temperature by only about 5 degrees at the hottest point of the day when the heat was entering and exiting the roof simultaneously. In cool climates however it s usually more cost effective to install more thermal insulation than to add a radiant barrier.

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. Installed in over 1 5 million homes in the united states lp techshield panels also lower attic temperatures up to 30 f. Radiantguard radiant barrier foil insulation installed in an attics can reduce attic temperatures by up to 30 degrees when stapled with a staple gun to the underside of roof rafters by reflecting up to 97 of the radiant heat that strikes its surface thereby reducing heat transfer from the attic to living spaces resulting in lower utility bills. Also any water leak will fall onto the backside of the radiant barrier and roll down the slope until it reaches the eaves soffits.

The most effective radiant barrier sheathing is a structural roof sheathing panel which consists of an osb panel with heat reflecting foil laminated to one side. But on the bright side. However it is also used in wall systems. Oriented strand board osb with a thin layer of low emitting aluminum foil attached to one side is a common type of thermal radiant barrier sheathing.