BLOCK 97% of the radiant heat with RadiantGUARD® products.  Radiant GUARD is a proud member of the Reflective Insulation Manufacturer Association.

Radiant Barrier Facts & Benefits

Ever wonder why candy bars, pizza delivery bags and tobacco products are packaged with aluminum foil?  Aluminum has a very high reflectivity rate and therefore blocks heat with remarkable results.

Reflective aluminum products have been in use for years to help keep heat away from perishable goods.  Within the last 25 years, this same reflective technology has been utilized in the construction industry to reflect heat away from building structures.  These products are called "radiant barriers."

Radiant barriers BLOCK radiant energy transferred via radiation.

Radiation is the transfer of heat (infra-red radiant energy) from a hot surface to a colder surface across an air space. All surfaces including roofs, ceilings and basic insulation radiate heat in varying degrees. Radiant heat is invisible and has no temperature, just energy. When this radiant energy strikes a secondary surface, it is absorbed and increases the temperature of that secondary surface.

This concept can be understood with the following common examples:

• On a bright sunny day, radiant heat from the sun travels through a car's window, strikes the steering wheel and is absorbed, causing the steering wheel to rise in temperature.
• Radiation from the sun strikes the outer surfaces of walls and roofs and is absorbed causing the surface to heat up. This heat flows from the outer side of the material to the inner side of the material through conduction heat transfer which is then radiated again into attics and living spaces increases the temperature inside the building.

A radiant barrier is designed to "block" the radiant energy that strikes it thereby reducing the amount of heat that would normally be radiated into attics and living spaces without a radiant barrier in place.

There are two terms commonly encountered while discussing reflecting radiant energy:

• Emittance (or emissivity), refers to the ability of a material's surface to emit radiant energy. All materials have emissivities ranging from 0% to 100%. The lower the emittance of a material, the lower the heat (infra-red radiant energy) radiated from its surface. Aluminum foil has a very low emittance, which explains its use in reflective insulation and radiant barriers.
• Reflectance (or reflectivity) refers to the fraction of incoming radiant energy that is reflected from the surface. Reflectivity and emissivity are related and a low emittance is indicative of a highly reflective surface.

Radiant Barrier Definition : Per the Department of Energy (DOE), a product classified as a "radiant barrier"  must have a low emittance of 10% or less and high reflectance of 90% or more.

RadiantGUARD® Standard, Premium, and Ultra radiant barrier foil insulation products have an emittance of 3% and a reflectance of 97%;  considerably higher than the DOE's radiant barrier minimum classification requirements. 

How Radiant Barriers Work:

Unlike other forms of insulation (fiberglass batting, blown-in fiberglass, stryfoam, etc) which absorb and eventually transfer heat into living spaces, radiant barriers reduce heat gain from the sun by blocking/reflecting the radiant heat in the opposite direction from which it came.

Radiant barriers are unaffected by humidity or ambient temperatures, unlike other forms of insulation, and therefore perform at a consistent level at all times.

RadiantGUARD® radiant barrier products are the leading products on the market used by home owners, new home builders, and agricultural and manufacturing enterprises.  Our radiant barrier foil insulation products are made from 99% pure aluminum making them the best at blocking 97% of the radiant heat that attempts to enter building structures.

RadiantGUARD® radiant barrier products can reduce attic temperatures by up to 30 degrees when installed to the underside of roof rafters.  Lowering attic temperatures provides a significant benefit by reducing air conditional loads and energy usage.  Radiant barriers can also:

• Reduce heat transfer from attic to living spaces by up to 50%,
• Extend the life of air conditioning units, and
• Increase the comfort level of a home.

Visit our eBay store today for purchasing RadiantGUARD® radiant barrier products.