Radiant Barriers

Radiant Barriers

Are you losing a growing amount of money to your energy bills and don’t know why? It could be that you’re losing your money the same way you’re losing your cool/warm air. You know how hot it can get here in San Antonio, and we all have the energy bills to prove it, but could your energy consumption be too high?

Energy consumption increases when your heating and cooling system overworks to compensate for loss. The good news is, Tiger Services is here to help keep that money in your wallet.

Here is the fourth part of our series on the four parts of your home that affect your energy conservation, and how to keep them from costing you more in the long run:

#4 Radiant Barriers

Radiant graphic

If the term ‘radiant barrier’ isn’t familiar, you’re not alone. Many people don’t know what radiant barriers are, nor where they can be found. Why does your home need radiant barriers if you already have good insulation?

If you’re interested in maximizing your energy savings, radiant barriers are a great place to start.

Most often, the barriers are located in the attic of your home, and help to inhibit thermal heat transfer. It’s unlike the insulation that you will find in your walls, as it works to block and/or reflect the heat energy.


How Do Radiant Barriers Work?

Conduction, convection, and radiation transfer heat from warm areas to cooler ones. Unsure of the difference? Tiger Services breaks it down for you:

Conduction

The heat in your home flows from hotter locations and materials to colder ones. A hands-on example of this is when you take your spoon and place it in your hot coffee in the morning.

The spoon in the coffee conducts heat to the handle in your hand, even though that portion of the spoon hasn’t touched the hot coffee directly.

Convection

Heat in your home is transferred when a liquid or gas rises due to decreased density or falls due to increased density. Think about the water in a pool. The water in the deep end is cooler than in the shallow end.

The air in your home is the same way. The air near your ceiling is warmer than the air near the floor due to convection.

Radiation

This form of heat travels directly to anything that will absorb it. Think of the sun heating your roof and your roof transferring that heat to the other materials in your attic.

Some materials heat up much faster than others, because different materials absorb heat to different degrees.

Why Do I need Radiant Barriers If I Have Insulation?

Thermal insulation, what we think of when we think of traditional insulation that goes in an attic or in the walls of your home, reduces the conduction of heat.

Radiant heat is still transferred between the insulation of your home and the external environment. Radiant barriers reflect that heat before it can be absorbed.

If your home has radiant barriers, be sure that your barriers are not installed touching another surface. For example, it shouldn’t be up against your insulation.

Radiant barriers will benefit you both in the summer and winter providing year-round energy savings.

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Tiger Services Air Conditioning and Heating
(a division of Air Alamo Service Co., Inc.)
   111 E Rhapsody  •  San Antonio, TX 78216
   (210) 344-0060
   Licensed by the State of Texas - TDLR #5678c
   7 days-a-week:   8:00am - 8:00pm
   Show Room:   Monday - Friday  |  9:00am - 4:00pm
Tiger Services Air Conditioning and Heating
   111 E Rhapsody  •  San Antonio, TX 78216
   (210) 344-0060
   Licensed by the State of Texas - TDLR #5678c
   7 days-a-week:   8:00am - 8:00pm
   Show Room:   Monday - Friday  |  9:00am - 4:00pm
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