Hi, I'm Ed Fritz, owner of AtticFoil.com and in this video I'm going to explain why EVERY
home in mixed or cold climates should install a radiant barrier directly OVER the attic
insulation.
Bang-for-the-buck, it's one of the best Do-It-Yourself projects you can do to make your home more
comfortable and energy efficient.
My goal is that after you watch this video you will want to share this information with
your friends and neighbors to help them too.
I'm going to briefly explain how a radiant barrier can make your home more comfortable
and energy efficient, but the main purpose of this video is to help people who live in
mixed or cold climates understand how a radiant barrier helps them.
I'm also going to explain something that most people (even people in the radiant barrier
business don't fully understand) and that is exactly HOW a radiant barrier, when installed
over the attic insulation - the mechanics of how it helps keep your home more comfortable
and energy efficient when it gets colder and the air temperature drops.
Here's a hint: it's not so much from reducing radiant heat loss - it's from the single biggest
energy efficiency mistake we make when we build homes.
It's something we've been doing for over 50 years and I promise you, you're going to have
an "AHA!"
moment and understand WHY you need to install a radiant barrier in your attic.
First, let me briefly explain how radiant barrier helps in the summer.
The sun emits radiant heat, radiant heat travels at the speed of light until it's absorbed
by your roof.
Then, that roof radiates heat across the attic.
Radiant heat is heat transfer by non-contact.
Basically, heat from one object transferring to another object without the two ever touching.
Here is an example: if you put your hand a couple inches away from a hot iron, eventually
your hand is going to get hot without the two ever touching.
This is radiant heat.
Anything that gets hot will emit radiant heat; different products absorb or reflect heat
at different rates, this is called the reflectivity of a product.
The higher the reflectivity, the less radiant heat it will absorb.
Essentially the object will stay cooler.
Most products absorb radiant heat, in fact, most roofing products are great at absorbing
radiant heat.
A typical dark colored roof can easily reach over 160 degrees on a hot summer day, once
this happens, the roof starts emitting radiant heat just like the iron.
The next thing you know, the insulation - which is supposed to keep the heat out - starts
to heat up just like your hand near the iron.
It's common for the top surface temp of the attic insulation to reach over 125 degrees
and this happens even in lower temps.
For example, on a 70 degree day, the roof might be 110 degrees, but the top of the insulation
could be 100 degrees.
This is why you often need to run your air conditioner in the afternoon on days that
are considered mild or moderate outside (maybe in the 60-75 degree range).
How do we keep the attic insulation cooler?
Simple, by installing a radiant barrier directly on top of the attic insulation.
When you do this, radiant heat that's coming off the roof is going to be reflected back.
When you do that, the top surface temp is going to be close to ambient (or the outside)
temp.
Now the air actually inside the attic may be a little warmer, but what we're really
worried about is that top surface temperature - that's what drives the heat into the home.
Pure aluminum has a reflectivity rating of 97% so it reflects virtually all the radiant
heat.
Only silver and gold reflect more, at 98% and 99%.
Want to try this yourself?
Take a hot iron and put your hand a couple inches away and see how long it takes before
you've gotta pull it away from it getting too hot.
Then take a piece of either regular kitchen foil, or get a free sample of AtticFoil, and
put it between the hot iron and your hand.
You should be able to keep your hand there for as long as you want since the AtticFoil
radiant barrier is reflecting 97% of the radiant heat.
Now, if you have an infrared thermometer, try this with a piece of wood with and without
a piece of foil between the iron and the wood.
The wood should get hotter without the foil.
This wood represents the wood on your attic floor.
Your attic is no different.
Putting AtticFoil radiant barrier directly on top of the attic insulation will make your
insulation cooler, just like your hand.
Less heat into the attic insulation means your home will be more comfortable and energy
efficient.
Also, a lot of days in the spring and fall, when you normally have to run your air conditioning
in the afternoon, you'll notice that once you install the radiant barrier you'll be
able to go all day without turning the air conditioner on.
What about installing radiant barrier in cold climates?
Installing a radiant barrier directly over your attic insulation will help some at reducing
radiant heat loss.
The problem, quite honestly, is that there is not that much radiant heat loss to begin
with.
But, here's the big secret that most people (people who even work in the insulation and
radiant barrier business) just don't get: radiant barrier helps by making your existing
attic insulation even more effective.
Let me explain.
In a typical ventilated attic, you have the roof, the attic space, then the attic insulation,
then sheetrock above the living space.
In a ventilated attic, you have the air entering the soffits and leaving through the exhaust
vents to help remove moisture and to keep the roof cold to prevent ice damming.
so basically the only thing between the warm living space and the cold outside air in the
attic is the layer of sheetrock and the layer of insulation.
This is a HUGE mistake that we have been making when it comes to building energy efficient
homes, and we've been doing it wrong for over 50 years!
The problem is that historically energy has been cheap and plentiful.
Energy efficiency was not a top priority, so this method works ok if you aren't really
worried about your heating cost.
It's stupid to just blow in insulation without a top air barrier, but it's cheap, and it's
fast and too often that's the driving force (even today!)
when it comes to building homes.
And YOU'RE paying for it everyday, but you can EASILY fix this problem!
Before we get in to the details, you must understand exactly how insulation is supposed
to work.
Insulation works by creating millions of little dead air pockets.
If you've ever heard the term R-value, this is the measurement of how fast (or how slow)
heat travels through insulation.
However, the test is done in a sealed box without ANY air movement, so the insulation
maintains all of its dead air and keeps its maximum R-value.
Unfortunately, this is not how attic insulation works in the real world in most attics.
The biggest mistake we make in most attics is that we just blow (or roll) the insulation
out and forget the top air barrier.
Air can go right through most insulation.
Think about what would happen if you took off the outer wind barrier on a jacket and
walked outside on a cold, windy day - the jacket would be almost worthless since the
air can go right through the insulation layer!
The same thing happens in an attic, it's called convective looping and it doesn't even have
to be windy to happen.
Cold air is heavier and denser than warm air so the cold air in your attic will fall through
the insulation almost like you were pouring water on it.
The cold air settles to the bottom of the insulation and displaces the warm air against
the sheetrock.
Since heat always travels from hot to cold, the cycle of air movement and heat loss will
continue AND the colder it gets, the more air moves, making the problem even worse!
How do we fix this problem of convective looping?
Simple.
Just like the jacket, we need to install an outside AIR barrier on top of the attic insulation.
When we do this, it's gonna stop the cold air from falling through the insulation.
Now, would a product like plastic sheeting work?
Yes, it would help stop the AIR movement, however we need a product that won't trap
the MOISTURE inside the insulation, moisture that is trying to leave the house.
This product is AtticFoil brand PERFORATED radiant barrier foil.
Simply install AtticFoil over your existing attic insulation and AtticFoil radiant barrier
will do it all!
In the summer it's going to reflect the heat to make your home more comfortable and energy
efficient and in the winter it's going to help retain radiant heat, but more importantly
it's going to act as an air barrier to reduce the convective air looping inside your attic
insulation - effectively making your attic insulation have a higher R-value.
We have thousands of customers in cold or mixed climates, in fact - it's the fastest
growing part of our business and the one thing that we consistently hear from customers is
after they install AtticFoil directly over their attic insulation, that the cold spots
in their home seem to be significantly better.
Some people say, "I'm not exactly sure what it is, but my home just feels more comfortable
after I installed the AtticFoil."
Original AtticFoil is PERFORATED; that means it has millions of tiny pinholes that allow
moisture to pass through while still acting as an excellent air barrier.
AtticFoil will not trap moisture, so there's no worries about the insulation getting damp
or mold issues.
Finally, if you live in an area with lots of snow or ice, installing a radiant barrier
will help keep the heat in the insulation where it belongs.
That means a colder roof and less risk of ice damming.
Did you have the "AHA!"
moment?
That's right - your attic insulation NEEDS an air barrier on top.
Installing AtticFoil radiant barrier is an effective, low-cost method to save money and
improve comfort.
Whether you do it yourself, or hire someone, you need to get it done!
Plus, check with your local utility company, many utility companies offer rebates for installing
radiant barrier in order to reduce energy usage.
In fact, some of the rebates are MORE than the actual cost of the material.
So that's WHY you should install AtticFoil radiant barrier in your attic.
Now, check out the video on HOW to install your attic radiant barrier.
Plus I'll cover the most common questions and concerns during installation.
For more information visit the website: www.AtticFoil.com.
If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking the button
below.
Or, if you want to see some related videos, click on the buttons to the side and don't
forget to LIKE (thumbs up!) this video.
Thanks for watching.