#Radiant barrier attic windows

Basically, traditional insulation materials such as fibreglass for instance, are transparent to radiant heat transfer, meaning that they are affected by the change in moisture levels, which is not the case with these barriers which will maintain the same performance regardless of the changes in humidity, thus preventing your insulation material to lose its effectiveness.

Now, while most insulation materials stop (or minimize) conductive and somewhat convective heat transfer, radiant barriers are used to prevent radiant heat transfer. For instance, sunrays falling on your face are a perfect example of radiant heat transfer. Finally, radiant heat travels from any heated surface and reflects in a straight line, thus heating solid object able to absorb such heat. The heat is transferred through the hot steam which occurs when some liquid or gas is heated, making it less dense thus travelling up. The best example for convection is hot steam rising from a boiling pot filled with water. For example, of you try to touch a hot stove, the heat will directly travel to your hand. Namely, heat travels in three basic ways – through conduction, convection and radiation. Conduction includes direct transfer from a hotter space or surface to a colder one. Sometimes, the insulation itself is not quite enough and should be complemented with some alternative materials, such as radiant barriers. In case you were wondering what are radiant barriers, we will herewith try to explain their basic features and functions.įirstly, let’s try to understand how heat transfer works. Of course, all the named methods should be combined in order of achieving the best possible result.

#Radiant barrier attic windows

Some include some common and less time and money consuming investments like weather stripping or replacing old, draughty windows with new double-glazed ones, while others include installing insulation to the most vulnerable areas within your home, like walls, ceilings, floors, foundations, attics and basements. There are a number of ways to improve your home insulation.