How does radiant barrier foil insulation work?
Radiant barrier foil insulation is unlike mass insulation that merely slows down or resists heat transfer. A radiant barrier BLOCKS radiant heat. Heat always moves to colder areas by natural law – the problem is how to keep the heat in the winter and how to keep it out in the summer. There are three ways in which heat moves from warm spaces to cold spaces: CONDUCTION is the direct heat flow through a solid object such as a wall or a ceiling. CONVECTION is heat movement through air, occurring when air is warmed. The warm expands, becoming less dense and rising. RADIATION is the movement of heat rays across air spaces from one warm object to a cooler object. The heat we feel from a wood stove or a quartz space heater is radiant heat. ALL OBJECTS AND BODIES GIVE OFF RADIANT HEAT. Radiant barriers BLOCK radiant heat by reflecting it back towards the direction it came as well as REDUCE convective heat by acting as a blockage against convective air flow. With a radiant barrier properly insta
