ZS-INSUL radiant barrier foil insulation

How Reflective foil works?

Radiant Barrier Foil Insulation

What is a radiant barrier?

A radiant barrier is an insulation system that utilizes a reflective foil insulation to BLOCK radiant heat energy opposed to conventional mass insulations that work by absorbing heat energy.
In order to fully understand how radiant barriers work and how reflective insulation can benefit you, the following information has been provided for your knowledge.

How is heat transferred?

To best understand how a radiant barrier works we must first understand the different ways that heat is transferred.
There are three ways in which heat is transferred from warm spaces to cold spaces:
Conductive: the transfer of heat flowing through a solid or fluid material.
Convective: the transfer of heat which involves the physical movement of air when it is warmed
Radiant: the movement of invisible heat rays from a warm surface to a cooler surface through an air space

How is reflective insulation different from conventional insulation?

Reflective insulation works differently from conventional insulation products such as fiberglass insulation, cellulose insulation and foam insulation.
These products work by slowing down or resisting heat energy.
The rate of resistance gives an insulation material it’s r-value.
These types of insulation do not block heat energy they only slow it down.

Conventional insulations do not insulate against RADIANT heat transfer.

Radiant heat that is transferred in your home or building enters or escapes in three directions of HEAT FLOW. The charts below show the rate of HEAT GAIN or HEAT LOSS in each instance.
The charts show that radiant heat transfer is responsible for the largest amount of heat loss or gain in a building structure.

Considering the fact that fiberglass and cellulose only guard against heat conduction and convection, we can understand how much energy is lost or gained through radiant transfer.