This thin, lightweight material provides resistance against three types of heat flow: conduction, convection, and radiation.
Reflects 97% of the radiant heat coming into your attic, reduces your attic temperatures from 20-45 degrees in the summer, and keeps your heat from escaping in the winter for a year-round savings of up to 40% on your energy costs.
The Energy Attic Radiant Barrier foil material is non-perforated and installed to create maximum airflow and eliminate moisture.
There are NO moisture or condensation issues with this product or the installation.
Lighter Weight and Still Stronger Than The Competition Sigma Technologies Int’l has created new manufacturing process able to eliminate the wasteful adhesives and films to create a lightweight radiant barrier that is actually stronger than a radiant barrier 50% heavier.
Strength tests performed by SGS Consumer Testing (a.k.a. US Testing Company, Inc.) measured both the Tongue Tear (ASTM D2261) and the Trapezoid Tear (ASTM D4533) for Sigma’s 3100 Series Radiant Barrier. These strength tests were then compared to tests run on a conventional heavyweight radiant barrier. For the Tongue Tear strength test, an incision is cut into the radiant barrier and a machine tries to tear it along the cut by ripping and pulling it in separate directions, perpendicular to the plane. For traditional heavyweight laminated radiant barrier, this test is sufficient to tear it. However, Sigma’s Series 3100 radiant barrier scrim stretched and shifted, but in the machine direction, the threads just would not tear. Because the Trapezoid Tear (ASTM D4533) test pulls the product in the direction of the tear, both types of products will actually tear instead of stretching or shifting. The Trapezoid Tear provides a fair comparison from a tear in one product to a tear in another.
The result of the Trapezoid Tear comparison is that it takes between 2X to 3X more strength to tear Sigma’s thinner, lighter Series 3100 radiant barrier (about 20 lbs per 1000 sq ft roll) than a conventional thick and heavyweight radiant barrier (about 30 lbs per 1000 sq ft roll). Other manufacturers are still relying on outdated lamination technology, where the only way to add strength is by making the radiant barrier thicker, heavier and more difficult to handle.
The manufacturer has developed the next generation of radiant barrier products by avoiding the use of adhesives and films in the lamination process. Just like the conversion from iron to steel, when waste is eliminated, the resulting product is not only stronger but much lighter weight and easier to handle.
Presented at the ASTM C16 Committee Semi-Annual Meeting – Monday, April 16, 2012 - Phoenix, Arizona
Test Results as Presented by Andre Desjarlais of Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Radiant barrier is finding its way into more and more building codes, like California Title 24. As a result, the US Department of Energy has conducted elaborate tests for radiant barrier in attics at the large scale climate simulator at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The purpose of this testing was to evaluate the performance differences in new construction and retrofit applications, as well as the performance differences between the radiant barrier sheet and the radiant barrier paint, also known as an Interior Radiant Control Coating (IRCC).
The experiment tested the performance of the following attic assemblies:
The attic assembly was built to code with rafter spacing, ventilation, and insulation. The large scale climate simulator tested the attic at temperatures simulating both summer and winter to calculate the savings for both heating and cooling. Even the heat lamps simulating the summer sun were used to simulate the solar load on the roof assembly.
The results were similar to previous tests performed on radiant barrier:
The DOE was hopeful that the IRCC would offer better performance since spraying on IRCC paint is easier than installing a sheet radiant barrier once the house is built, but the thermal emissivity of the IRCCs on the market today do not perform as well as a sheet radiant barrier.
In new construction, the radiant barrier laminated to the OSB sheathing is certainly the easiest and least expensive to install, but going to the added labor in installing a radiant barrier under rafters can result in greater savings. This may be for a variety of reasons, like the higher emissivity of the OSB, a lack of space between the barrier and the sheathing to vent, and the presence of the rafters below the barrier to reduce the coverage of the low emittance surface.
The most efficient method was the radiant barrier applied to the rafters. Since this particular experiment did not have A/C ducts in the attic, homes with attic ducts could see even greater savings in the summer. Radiant barrier on the rafters is the preferred method of installing a retrofit radiant barrier by the US Department of Energy, ENERGY STAR, California Title 24, ASTM International, RIMA International, and others.