Radiant Barriers 

Solar energy is absorbed by a roof, heating the roof sheathing and causing the underside of the sheathing and the roof framing to radiate heat downward toward the attic floor. 

When a radiant barrier is placed directly underneath the roofing material facing an air gap, much of the heat radiated from the hot roof is reflected back toward the roof. The low emissivity of the underside of the radiant barrier means very little radiant heat is emitted downwards. This reduces the amount of heat that moves through the insulation into the space below.

Don't have items touching the radiant barrier. Radiant barriers must face an open air space to perform properly as they transfer heat only across air spaces. If other materials touch it, heat will be transferred by conduction.

Radiant barriers work in the Dallas-Fort Worth area but open-cell foam insulation sprayed under the attic roof is generally a more effective heat control for this area. The foam seals the attic and conditions the attic space, allowing that space to be used for other purposes such as storage. Foam is particularly important when the air-conditioning ducts are in the attic as they are in most DFW homes..

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