Are you looking for the best way to protect your home from the heat in South Florida? If so, you should consider installing radiant barrier insulation in your attic. Radiant barriers are a great way to reduce the amount of heat that enters your home, and they can help you save money on your electricity bills. Radiant barriers are building materials that reflect thermal radiation or heat from the sun and reduce heat transfer. They are usually made of small pieces of film impregnated with silver, about the size of a snowflake.
When installed in an attic, they can reduce the heating rate by up to 97%. This can help keep your home free from excessive temperatures and make your air conditioning systems work more efficiently. When it comes to insulation, the R-value is an important factor. This refers to the thickness of the material and how it is installed.
Installing a radiant barrier in an attic that already has high levels of insulation (R-30 or higher) will generate lower energy savings than in an insulated attic at a low level (R-11 or lower). If you're considering installing a radiant barrier in your attic, you should also think about other ways to improve your insulation. For example, you can use it around ductwork, hot water tanks, and water pipes. Some radiant barriers have perforations in the barrier to allow even better airflow and prevent moisture accumulation.
If you've had problems with rodents, birds, or other pests in and around your house in the past, you've probably found that they like to bite through insulation and even build a home in it. Radiant barriers are a great way to prevent this from happening as they require an air space next to the reflective side. The document, the fact sheet on the radiant barrier, includes a link to the radiant barrier calculator that includes simple calculations on how to approximate the economy of radiant barriers and additional insulation on roofs. If you haven't thought about installing a radiant barrier in your attic yet, now is probably the right time to think about it.
