Do you notice sometimes that your home is too hot? Do you feel like you are running your air conditioning unit more often and heavily than you’d like? In the winter months, do you notice having to use your heating more often? Have you noticed your utility bills are sometimes just outrageous?
If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, it may be time to call roof services for advice. Sometimes your roof could be absorbing heat instead of reflecting it. Something could have been done wrong when your roof was installed that is causing heat to be absorbed rather than reflected away. That is when roof companies often suggest that you may need a radiant barrier.
What Are Radiant Barriers?
If you have never heard of radiant barriers, then you are not alone. They are not something that is commonly included with every roof installation. Some people can go a lifetime without ever hearing about them, especially in areas with cooler climates. So what exactly are radiant barriers?
Radiant barriers consist of materials that are highly reflective and are designed to stop radiant heat generated from the sun's infrared rays by reflecting it away. These barriers are installed in residential or commercial structures by roof companies to reduce heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter.
The effect of radiant barriers is a reduction of energy usage for building cooling and heating. Roof services usually install radiant barriers in the attic to help reduce the load on your A/C in hot and arid climates.
Installing Radiant Barriers
Roof services will come to your home to inspect the roof before installing a radiant barrier. Most barriers are aluminum and installed on the underside of your roof between the rafters. A roof company may also use 2-layer reinforced foil, a material that can reflect up to 97% of radiated energy from the sun. Proper installation of a radiant barrier is really important in order to ensure that it will be as effective as it should be.
Make sure that a qualified roof company is doing your radiant barrier roof installation. One thing to keep in mind with radiant barriers is that the aluminum will also conduct electricity, so be careful that it does not make contact with any bare electric wiring in your attic. Then enjoy the savings on your utility bills!
