Radiant Barrier Roof Decking Saves Energy

Radiant barrier roof sheathing helps to improve comfort in the building interior during the warm summer months and reduces energy costs.

Radiant barrier roof decking saves energy.

A radiant barrier works best when it is perpendicular to the radiant energy striking it. The goal of a foil backed osb is to cool the air within the top layer of insulation in the attic or wall by emitting the radiant heat absorbed through the roof or exterior walls which reduces the delta t and lessens the overall energy use in a building. Placing a radiant barrier directly under the roof decking as illustrated above raises the attic temperature and energy consumption between 2pm and 8pm. A radiant barrier reduces the radiant heat transfer from the underside of the roof to the other surfaces in the attic.

By reducing heat transfer from the living space into an unconditioned attic a properly installed radaint barrier can complement the energy saving efforts of traditional insulation. Because heat always moves from hot areas to cold areas radiant barrier sheathing also prevents heat transfer from the warm interior during the cooler winter months. A radiant barrier can be effective with an asphalt shingle roof only when installed inside the attic either to the underside of the roof decking or to the underside of the roof rafters. The osb techshield radiant barrier osb is engineered to improve energy efficiency.

Lp techshield panels patented technology blocks up to 97 of the radiant heat. In fact according to energy gov the radiant barrier can improve energy efficiency of about 5 10. A radiant barrier can reduce energy loads by up to 10 in winter based on independent studies. Radiant barrier roof sheathing appears to reduce summer cooling loads by about 0 09 kwh ft of sheathing which equals about 180 kwh yr per home or 3 percent of summer cooling loads.

In southern climates where summers are warmer your cost savings would be closer to the 10 mark. Here s what they found. The reason is simple when the inside roof deck surface emissivityis lowered from 95 bare wood to a lower value the result is a hotter substrate hence the logic behind the radiant barrier. In these attic space applications there is an air space below the radiant barrier.

This means your a c bill could reduce by about 5 10. Remember this study looked at homes in houston texas no stranger to heat. As mentioned above a radiant barrier can improve home energy efficiency. It reduces attic temperatures by up to 30 degrees fahrenheit and it blocks up to 97 of radiant heat.