Radiant Barrier And Its Usage


by Radiant Barrierone - Date: 2010-08-27 - Word Count: 550 Share This!

Individuals reflective barriers that are great conductors for transferring heat through thermal radiation are known as Radiant Barrier. There are additional methods also for transferring heat such as heat conduction or convection however in these methods the Radiant Barrier cannot be used for protection.

Emission of energy takes place from every material through the procedure of thermal radiation, due to temperature of the substance. The rate of thermal radiation is dependent upon the temperature of the body and emissivity. Emissivity is directly proportional to the degree of heat radiated at a particular wavelength. How much energy a body reflects at a specific length is known as its reflectivity.

For those wavelengths at which the Radiant Barrier function, there emissivity is to be maintained low as much as .1 or below it. Generally for buildings, the range of wavelength in the mid and the long-infrared spectrum lies between 3-15 micrometers. Reflectivity has a very fluctuating value for that Radiant Barrier. This is for the reason that reflectivity and emissivity don't add up as one for different wavelengths. Thus, low thermal emissivity can be used to produce surfaces that are visibly dark in color. To have optimum performance Radiant Barrier need to be placed is such a way that it faces the open surfaces to avoid any kind of radiation.

Radiant barrier applications:

A material was formulated by NASA that was reflective, light and produced from plastic substrate and was aluminum coated by vapor deposition method which is commonly referred to as space blanket. The main usage of space blanket is to guard astronauts, spacecrafts and equipments from radiation and to retain heat as in space temperature fluctuations are common. Therefore Radiant Barrier are much more effective in space compared to earth since in space, more of heat transmissions are by radiation. In earth, heat is transferred by conduction and convection after employing Radiant Barrier too.

There is one more important use of Radiant Barrier which is to cut down loss of indoor heat.

Installation of Radiant Barrier is generally done by two methods-

1.Radiant Barrier Decking

2.Radiant Barrier Attic Foil.

The roofs our home absorbs a lot of solar energy throughout sunny days. Actually the roof sheathing also gets heated up and thus radiates heat down to attic floor. If a radiant barrier is placed on the floor, it reflects the heat it receives back to the roof again. This makes the top surface cooler. It also effectively removes the heat from coming into the rooms. Therefore, a radiant barrier is quite an effective device.

Attic insulation and radiant barrier are differing from each other. Their features are similar but their methods of achieving the same differ. Radiant Barrier decreases the heat radiation amount. But traditional attic insulation reduces radiation by convention by trapping the air within insulation. This method utilizes air trapping. This method is rated by R-value. Radiant Barrier don't carry R-value since they are dependent on numerous factors.

Radiant Barrier has different range. The price of set up is depended upon the person who installs it. Additional factors include the additional functions which some individuals prefer to incorporate in it. The price is different for a new house and an existing one.

Therefore Radiant Barrier is very much helpful devices these days. These devices have gained such importance in our life that they have become a part of our lives.

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