Therma-Comfort Reflective Insulation is an Optimal Radiant Barrier Insulation

Radiant Barrier Insulation, or Reflective Insulation, is specially designed to reflect the radiant heat from the sun. It was initially designed as an attic radiant barrier to reflect against the radiant heat transferred through roof into the attic. Now, there are many areas in the home that can benefit from the use of a radiant barrier such as ceilings, walls, and floors. Garage doors, hot water heaters, and hot water pipes are also much more effective when protected by radiant barrier reflective insulation.

To better understand radiant heat, let's look at how all heat is transferred. Heat is transferred by three methods:

Conduction- Direct Contact: Transfer of heat from one solid object to another when they are in contact with each other.

Convection- Circulation: Transfer of heat in the air caused by the movement of heated air.

Radiant- Electromagnetic: Transfer of heat from infra-red waves at the contact of a material.

Radiant heat is the largest source of energy loss or gain in your house, and radiant barrier insulation is the best way to stop the transfer. 5% is lost through conduction, 20% is lost through convection, and 75% is lost through radiation.

To understand conduction and convection a little better, let's look at the example of a boiling pot of water. The pot of cold water is sitting on a hot fire. The heat goes through the pan to heat the cold water. The metal of the pan is a conductor, carrying the heat from the fire to the water until the water is also hot. This transfer of heat, or kinetic energy, from the hot fire to the cold water is called conduction.

For convection, let's look at the same pot of water. When anything, in this case water, gets hotter it becomes less dense and the molecules spread out. Due to buoyant forces, the hot water rises to a cooler region of water. The boiling water in a pot is actually the hot water at the bottom rising to the cooler water at the top. Then the water at the top is pushed down so that it can heat up too. This flow of hot water to cooler water is called convection.

Radiant heat flow is all together different from conduction and convection. Many insulations hinder heat flow, but only radiant barrier insulation blocks radiant heat. Radiation is basically the transfer of heat in the form of light. Radiation is the means by which heat is transferred from the sun to the earth. The heat we feel from a campfire is transferred by radiation. Though we can see the light from a campfire, the light from all objects is not always visible. Human beings emit almost exclusively infrared light, but it is not visible light which is why we don't see each other glowing in the dark.

Different radiant barrier insulations block heat flow for different reasons. Let's look at conduction again. Pretend that you have a room and you separate it into two rooms with a wall. If one room was very warm and the other was very cold, the wall would hinder the transfer of heat between the two rooms. But, what if the wall was made of copper? The heat from the hot room would be quickly transferred to the cold room. Copper can quickly transfer heat because it is a good conductor, therefore it has a high thermal conductivity. But what if the wall was made out of concrete? The heat transfer would be very slow because concrete has a low thermal conductivity. Fiberglass is another example of low thermal conductivity because fiberglass is full of small air pockets - and dead air is a very poor conductor. Because of this, fiberglass and concrete have a very high thermal resistance. The R-value of an insulation is referring to its capacity to resist thermal energy.

Many insulations resist the transfer of heat by conduction or convection. But radiant heat is different. The best insulation against radiant heat is reflective insulation, or radiant barrier insulation. Reflective insulation has a specialized design of heat sealed bubbles encased in two layers of aluminum foil. Like fiberglass, the bubbles stop the flow of heat. The foil casing reflects 97% of radiant heat, which is the largest source of heat loss or gain in the house.

Reflective insulation is the best radiant heat barrier. We have already discussed the most common uses of radiant barrier insulation, but there are also many other construction products to protect again the loss of heat through radiation. A radiant barrier wrap is reflective insulation that can be wrapped around a water heater to conserve heat instead of letting it leak out to get wasted.

Radiant barrier chips are used in addition to already existing insulation in your attic. The chips are most effective on a smooth flat surface. If the pre-existing insulation is lumpy, the radiant barrier chips will build up in the lower spots while leaving some insulation exposed. Exposed insulation creates a passage for heat to move. Add the chips to the surface of the insulation and it will can help you save 25% to 40% on your utility bills.

Radiant barrier wrap and radiant barrier chips are only two products that use radiant barrier reflective insulation technology. A radiant barrier heat panel and radiant barrier roof decking also work to reflect radiant heat.

Therma-Comfort is a leading product of radiant barrier insulation. Its unique combination of layers of heat sealed bubbles encased by 99% aluminum foil outer surface deliver a high performance insulation product suitable for all construction and home renovating projects. It maximizes R-value without adding significant thickness to the insulation system and can be used on its own or in conjunction with pre-existing mass insulation.

We stand behind our Therma-Comfort products and will happily answer any questions you might have concerning a radiant barrier for you home. Please call us at (951) 675-1207 for price quote or for any assistance to make the best decision for your home and family.