[maryanna630]

Has anyone had any experience with this? Does it actually significantly reduce cooling costs? What is the payback time and what is the cost here in the villages? There seems to be a lot of differing opinions on this.
Thanks as always....

[Toymeister]

While I have not installed it I did consider it. What kept me from pulling the trigger is there are two other lower cost options to save. Attic ventilator and insulation. I did both myself. Because I never had a cooling bill without these improvements I can't tell you how much I saved. I did locate an insulation savings calculator that estimated 21.60 in annual cooling saving going from r30 to r50. It will barely pay for itself and only because l DIY.

The fan will likely pay for itself because diy and I sought out a low wattage fan that is non solar. The critics will disagree but 10am to 10 p.m. 100% operation beats solar at varying rates of operation depending on Sun intensity and angle. I get this for 34 watts in a thermostat controlled situation. I can tell you the cost of electricity, 3.8 cents per 12 hours of operation. It drops the temp at least 10 degrees in the attic.

Edit to add most power ventilators use 10 times the electricity the one I used.

[Ingenuity]

I live in Houston and will be moving to TV in a couple of months. My friend has a radiant barrier and it saves him money on the air conditioning bill. The downside is cell phone reception. He has to go outside to have a conversation on the phone. I came to TV for a lifestyle visit and in the villa my cell phone was not getting reception and I was dropping calls or not getting calls. I asked the agent if the home had a radiant barrier and he stated yes. So if you have a cell phone, your reception will not be the best, but my friend's electric bill is half of what mine is.

[Ooper]

A neighbor had it the barrier put in. He kept meticulous records of his electric bills before and after and told me there was no difference that that in his opinion, it was a waste of money!

[Wiotte]

I just purchased a new home in Osceola Hills. Same model I owned 3 years prior before the code change. New house with radiant barrier sports an A/C unit 83% the capacity of the previous house. Still maintains 73 degrees at 92 degrees outside.
Ventured into my attic on that same 90 degree day at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The attic was the SAME temperature as the garage. Old house attic was 30 degrees hotter.
Properly installed radiant barriers work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mrs. Robinson]

Originally Posted by Ooper

A neighbor had it the barrier put in. He kept meticulous records of his electric bills before and after and told me there was no difference that that in his opinion, it was a waste of money!

It sounds like a piece of this story is missing because from everything I've read, radiant barriers do work.

If this was something I was contemplating doing, I would only accept information from the horse's mouth and not from hearsay.

[rhood]

We had it installed about 6 years ago. I also kept good records regarding electric usage usage by month and year. There was no difference before and after. I compared the five years before and five years after and saw no savings. I showed the records to the installer and he agreed with me and asked what I wanted. I told him I wanted a refund, but it never came.

[DangeloInspections]

Great topic.

There are different opinions on this, but for the record, I have taken many classes on the subject, and have no ulterior motives here. I am not selling anything.

I'll try to keep this brief, but as a person who is in over 400 attics a year inspecting, I will share with you my views.

The newer homes have radiant barriers installed on the underside of the roof sheathing during construction. That is fine and does help. Cost increase in minimum and it does not disturb the insulation, etc.

Aftermarket radiant barriers are cost prohibitive. Engineers say that at best you may save 5-10% on your electric bill. Often, portions of it fall down after a few years. If the top of it gets dusty, (and it will) you will lose effectiveness. Basically not recommended. Very long payback time, if any.

You would be better off after having everything you want done aftermarket in your attic, (solar tubes, can lights, etc) adding another 4-6 inches of insulation to go from an R-30 to at least an R-38.

The experts views on attic insulation and ventilation are changing everyday. I believe that ten years from now you will see big changes on how we handle both in a new home.

Frank

[biker1]

A newer approach that appears to be rarely used around here (Green Key Village notwithstanding) is to apply spray foam (either open or closed cell) insulation to the underside of the roof sheathing. I opted for this approach in a previous home. The attic is then sealed and doesn't require ventilation. There is no additional insulation on the floor of the attic. Typically, the attic will be no warmer than 10 degrees higher than the living spaces of the house. With this approach, you essentially reduce the amount of heat entering the structure. It effectively acts as a radiant barrier also as the roof sheathing is not presented to the attic as a hot, long wave radiation source. There are a couple of downsides. With the closed cell, you may not know about any roof leaks until a substantial amount of damage has been done. Also, the foam is created by the chemical reaction of two materials (mixed at the hand sprayer) and any malfunctions could leave you with an uninhabitable home. It is best done during the original construction of the house (that is I what I did) as a retrofit may be difficult and/or expensive.

Originally Posted by DangeloInspections

Great topic.

There are different opinions on this, but for the record, I have taken many classes on the subject, and have no ulterior motives here. I am not selling anything.

I'll try to keep this brief, but as a person who is in over 400 attics a year inspecting, I will share with you my views.

The newer homes have radiant barriers installed on the underside of the roof sheathing during construction. That is fine and does help. Cost increase in minimum and it does not disturb the insulation, etc.

Aftermarket radiant barriers are cost prohibitive. Engineers say that at best you may save 5-10% on your electric bill. Often, portions of it fall down after a few years. If the top of it gets dusty, (and it will) you will lose effectiveness. Basically not recommended. Very long payback time, if any.

You would be better off after having everything you want done aftermarket in your attic, (solar tubes, can lights, etc) adding another 4-6 inches of insulation to go from an R-30 to at least an R-38.

The experts views on attic insulation and ventilation are changing everyday. I believe that ten years from now you will see big changes on how we handle both in a new home.

Frank

[TheSolarGuys]

Give us a call and we can do a free attic inspection. We offer Radiant Barrier, Solar Attic Fans, and Traditional Blown-In Insulation. We can come up with the perfect solution for your individual home. Thanks 866-669-5259

[crash]

Originally Posted by Mrs. Robinson

It sounds like a piece of this story is missing because from everything I've read, radiant barriers do work.

If this was something I was contemplating doing, I would only accept information from the horse's mouth and not from hearsay.

I had it installed and the garage is 15 degrees cooler and you can actually use the garage on hot days. You can go up to the attic storage area even in the heat of the day where as before you could not.

Don't know about pay back but comfort of non air conditioned space is dramatically improved.

[Toymeister]

Here is a completely different angle: whole house energy monitoring.

Three models will identity which appliances are using how much electricity by percentage and kwh. Why this may be important is you can point the finger on what is costing you and then modify your behavior to save. Maybe the garage freezer isn't worth as much as it costs you maybe you didn't know leaving the ceiling fan on 24/7 costs you $8.72 a month. The apps will name the appliances. Who knew that it is a quarter cent to toast your bread?

If you knew your "always on" stuff was 18% of your bill you might identify what they are. You would be surprised how little your fridge cost. Point is information is power.

One of these cost about 300.00 One is a European brand that I don't recall, Neurio (Amazon) and Sense (direct sales from website)

Edit to add: it does tell you how much heating, ac, water heater, and the dryer cost to the penny.

[twoplanekid]

Originally Posted by DangeloInspections

Great topic.

There are different opinions on this, but for the record, I have taken many classes on the subject, and have no ulterior motives here. I am not selling anything.

I'll try to keep this brief, but as a person who is in over 400 attics a year inspecting, I will share with you my views.

The newer homes have radiant barriers installed on the underside of the roof sheathing during construction. That is fine and does help. Cost increase in minimum and it does not disturb the insulation, etc.

Aftermarket radiant barriers are cost prohibitive. Engineers say that at best you may save 5-10% on your electric bill. Often, portions of it fall down after a few years. If the top of it gets dusty, (and it will) you will lose effectiveness. Basically not recommended. Very long payback time, if any.

You would be better off after having everything you want done aftermarket in your attic, (solar tubes, can lights, etc) adding another 4-6 inches of insulation to go from an R-30 to at least an R-38.

The experts views on attic insulation and ventilation are changing everyday. I believe that ten years from now you will see big changes on how we handle both in a new home.

Frank

According to a Village salesperson that I talk with today, the Villages are changing or eliminating their current radiant barriers because of cell phone issues. They do listen to customer complaints.

[biker1]

Assuming that is true, that is unfortunate as Microcell boxes or routing cells phone calls directly via WiFi solves that problem.

Originally Posted by twoplanekid

According to a Village salesperson that I talk with today, the Villages are changing or eliminating their current radiant barriers because of cell phone issues. They do listen to customer complaints.