Most homeowners and commercial property owners are already familiar with the importance of insulation. Insulation not only saves you money on your energy bill, but it can also keep insects and critters out of your home. It also keeps your home soundproof. Radiant barrier insulation is a smart choice in Austin.
You can learn more about radiant barrier insulation in Austin and why it will be of benefit to you in the following paragraphs.
What is radiant barrier insulation?
Any surface that reflects heat back to its source is considered a radiant barrier. Radiant barriers are useful for deflecting heat from a heat source to empty spaces, such as your attic, so that your house can stay cooler.
Besides other types of insulation, radiant barriers consist of metallic foil layers. This will help your home or building ward off the heat from the sun.
How does radiant barrier insulation work?
If you remember your fifth-grade science class, you can better understand radiant barrier insulation. A heat transfer process can be either convectional, conductional, or radiative.
Similarly, when you put a pan on a gas or electric burner or curl your hair with a curling iron, there is direct contact between the heat source and the material. Heat is conventionally transferred through the movement of air – for example, oven convection circulates hot air continuously for even heating. If you use a space heater to heat your home, the warm air rises, which helps the heater cool the colder air at the bottom. This eventually leads to an even warmth throughout the home.
There is a difference between radiant and convective heat transport. As electromagnetic radiation is responsible, it causes the same sensation as feeling the warmth of the sun on your face, even though the sun isn’t touching you and the atmosphere is totally silent.
The reflective screens on windshields in the summer or thermal coffee cups in the winter can be used as radiant heat transfer barriers.
In order to act as a radiant barrier, the insulation needs to have some air space between the layers at least on one side of it (your thermal coffee cup has an empty space between the layers, as does your attic). Heat will just move through layers if it is used between two solids. It only radiates 4 percent of its heat when you have dead air on one side. Other parts are reflected back to the observer.
It requires a dead air space on one side, a proper installation, and radiant barrier insulation that has little to no R-value on its own. The right installation by an accredited company, however, can help improve your interior climate control and cut your energy bills significantly.
If you are interested in radiant barrier insulation for your business in Austin, contact our team at America Air Duct Cleaning. You can choose the best and most cost-effective insulation to meet your specific needs.
