Author: Alex Rabin
Simply compare your 10 year old electric bill with the recent one, and you will soon realize that we are nowhere near a global solution to the greenhouse gas emission problem. Moreover, suggestions to replace your light bulbs with the fluorescent ones or shut down your air-conditioner in summer don't make you comfortable and don't contribute as much as some people might think. However, reflective insulation may be one answer to at least the air conditioning part of your summer electric bill. It is simple, cost and energy efficient, but far from being well known to the general public, home owners, and even many builders.
Are you someone who can usually be found on vacation hiding from the burning sunlight under a beach umbrella? People feel much better under the shade simply because light-colored fabric reflects the heat. Simple logic suggests that the lighter the color, the better heat reflection. Moreover, protection is more effective if the surface is shiny, which explains why firefighters, for example, wear shiny reflective outfits.
In scientific terms, firefighters use a reflective insulation, or radiant barrier, to be protected from the excessive heat. Good quality reflective insulation, or what might be referred to as a radiant barrier, reflects more than 95% of infrared heat waves or radiant heat, while emitting very little heat itself - keeping those firefighters safe.
You can test this by trying a little experiment. First, put your palm 1-2" close to a standard electric light bulb and feel the heat. Try again, with some cotton wool between the lamp and your hand. You will feel better, but in only a few minutes heat will penetrate through the wool and you'll still get hot, even though you now have an insulation layer.
Now, place a 4x4" piece of household aluminum foil between the lamp and your hand (just make sure that the foil does not touch your hand) - and you will feel immediate relief. A little breeze to remove air between your hand and the foil (blow gently) and this will give you a perfect imitation of the beach umbrella effect. That's exactly the way a radiant barrier or foil insulation works.
So - what does this mean for your home? To get back to your overheated house - can you put an umbrella over the roof? In a sense, yes. You can protect your house exactly the same way; all you have to do is to put a strong, inexpensive reflective insulation or foil insulation layer under (not over) the roof of your house. When installing, make sure that you have all the things that theory suggests are in place: a radiant barrier or reflective insulation layer, vented air cavities (which is an important part of the process), moisture control etc.
Good quality radiant barrier or reflective insulation is lightweight, and thin but strong enough to be installed with staples or even nails. It even can be a "do it yourself" project; you just need some basic handyman skills and simple tools (construction stapler or nails), and of course some foil tape or adhesive tape.
So why not make your house "greener" and more comfortable, while contributing to the reduction of the greenhouse has emission?
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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Radian-Barrier,-Foil-Insulation---Reflection-on-Reflective-Insulation&id=3605608] Radian Barrier, Foil Insulation - Reflection on Reflective Insulation
