Articles: All That Glitters in Your Attic May Mean Gold In Your Pocket
Michael D Zande, Ph.D.
Several years ago one of my neighbors called my over to his house because he “couldn’t wait” to show me something he said he had just had installed in his attic. Unable to come up with a gracefully suitable excuse to skip what sounded like a rather unappealing invitation (I guess attics just were not that thrilling to me back then), I reluctantly hiked to his house and he took me upstairs. I was confronted with what looked like something from outer space; His entire attic was lined with a glittery silver foil. He explained to me that the material was researched and used by NASA and that it would actually reflect heat away from his living space in the summer and back into his living space in the winter.
He further described just how completely ineffective regular fiberglass attic insulation is at blocking the most prevalent method of heat movement, that is, radiation and how aluminum can reflect nearly all of the radiant heat that hits it. By using this material he was able to stop heat from getting into his insulation in the first place. This got me thinking about how I would hear my air conditioner cranking away at one o’clock in the morning after it had already cooled down outside. I learned that fiberglass attic insulation works just like a sponge. It does not stop or block heat it merely absorbs it. Once the insulation has as much heat as it can hold, it lets any additional heat “drip” out, right into the living area. Of course, at one in the morning, the a/c was working hard to remove the heat that had absorbed into my fiberglass attic insulation throughout the previous day.
I was even more interested when my neighbor got his first electric bill after installing the “radiant barrier.” He had reduced his electrical consumption by over 25%. Since that time I have installed radiant barriers in my house and in several rental properties. The savings on air conditioning are significant. The method makes so much sense and is so cost effective one wonders why all States with warm climates do not require radiant barriers in their building code. Part of the answer is that it just takes a while for NASA spin offs to take hold. The other part of the answer is that, I suspect, fiberglass insulation manufacturers have much more lobbying clout in State legislative houses than the much smaller radiant barrier industry has. Nevertheless, radiant barrier has proven so effective that it is now incorporated in California building codes and is required in new structures in the City of Austin Texas. I suspect the “gold rush” is just beginning as people discover this effective way to put more of what glitters back into their pockets.
Dr. Zande is co-founder of ProActive Energy Systems, Inc. located in Raleigh, NC. ProActive Energy Systems, Inc. specializes in energy efficiency upgrades for existing homes and office buildings. Go to www.proactiveenergysystems.com for more information.