Spray Foam Insulation Vs Radiant Barrier

Foam insulation rigid boards are 4 x8 sheets usually cast of closed cell polystyrene designed to fit directly inside walls against the interior or exterior of plywood sheathing as.

Spray foam insulation vs radiant barrier.

A radiant barrier insulation system can reduce your attic temperature by as much as 30 f providing cooler attic spaces and more beneficially more comfortable living spaces within your home without the extra load on your cooling system. Radiant barrier sheathing is inexpensive and reflects thermal radiation to keep attic spaces cool. Another alternative to radiant barrier foil are the various types of foam insulation. In other words it reflects 95 of any incoming radiant heat.

R 20 insulation beats a radiant barrier any day but r 20 is still less that the minimum code requirement for roof insulation. This means that radiant barrier sheathing keeps your home comfortably insulated against outside heat and saves energy your power utility bills up to 17. For summer cooling the radiant barrier may be better than the spray foam most of the attic s heat gain is through radiation in our sunny climate in denver colorado a well vented attic with a radiant barrier helps our clients keep their cool prolong their shingle life while reducing their conditioned space. What is foam insulation.

It has increased r values that make your attic space cooler in the hotter months. So you should ideally do better and at least meet the minimum code requirement of r 30. Radiant barrier sheathing radiant barrier sheathing can reflect back up to 95 of the heat absorbed and can consequently reduce attic temperatures by up to 20 degrees f. The emittance value of our radiant barrier products is 0 05.

However radiant barrier sheathing in general offers a number of advantages over spray foam insulation including. Old home with some floored storage in attic and worn out fiberglass insulation in unfloored area no hvac there but some duct work. When installing attic insulation a case can be made for both radiant barrier sheathing with typical types of insulation as well as spray foam insulation. Traditional vented attic assemblies with radiant barriers have a long history of reliable performance.

Take a look at the chart below from rima to compare some common brands. Ingols we have a 50 yr. A number of factors should be taken into consideration when choosing between these two especially the climate zone that you re building in. Spray foam may be a good option in small homes where space is essential or in areas that are difficult to insulate.

If you are more concerned with energy efficiency spray foam. Spray applied radiant heat barrier paint by j. Spray foam is a great way to keep heat in your home in the winter and often sparks the spray foam roof insulation vs. At the time of this writting the best spray on radiant barrier coating comes in at 0 16.