Garland Roofing Guide

As a local Garland roofing contractor we can help you go Green and save on your cooling / heating bills with radiant barrier roofing. Radiant barriers are installed in homes primarily to reduce summer heat gain, which helps lower cooling costs.

Our radiant barriers consist of a highly reflective material that reflects (or more technically, re-emits) radiant heat rather than absorbing it. They don't, however, reduce heat conduction like thermal insulation materials.

How Radiant Barrier Works
Heat travels from a warm area to a cool area by a combination of conduction, convection, and radiation. Heat flows by conduction from a hotter location within a material or assembly to a colder location. Radiant heat travels in a straight line away from any surface and heats anything solid that absorbs the incident energy.

When the sun heats your home's roof, it's primarily the sun's radiant energy that makes the roof hot. A large portion of this heat travels by conduction through the roofing materials to the attic side of the roof. The hot roof material then radiates its gained heat energy onto the cooler attic surfaces, including the air ducts and the attic floor. A radiant barrier reduces the radiant heat transfer from the underside of the roof to the other surfaces in the attic.

Radiant barriers are most effective in hot Texas climates, especially when cooling air ducts are located in the attic. Some studies show that radiant barriers can lower cooling costs between 5%–10% when used in a warm, sunny climate like Garland and Richardson. The reduced heat gain may even allow for a smaller air conditioning system. But in cool climates, it's usually more cost effective to install more than the minimum recommended level of insulation rather than a radiant barrier.

Types of Radiant Barriers
Radiant barriers come in a variety of forms, including reflective foil, reflective metal roof shingles, reflective laminated roof sheathing, and even reflective chips, which can be applied over loose-fill insulation. The reflective material, usually aluminum, is applied to one or both sides of a number of substrate materials. Substrate materials include craft paper, plastic films, cardboard, oriented strand board, and air infiltration barrier material. Some products are fiber-reinforced to increase the durability and ease of handling.

Also, radiant barriers can be combined with many types of standard home insulation materials. These combinations are called reflective insulation systems. In these combinations, radiant barriers can also act as the insulation's facing material.

Call Garland Residential Roofing today for your FREE ROOFING QUOTE at 877-772-7581.