Anybody ever put in one of these Radiant Barriers? Everything I read about it seems like its the greatest thing ever or a total sham. Anybody have any thoughts? Also, I need to start replacing windows in my house. I live in an older home with all wooden top/bottom windows. I want quality windows but want to be to afford groceries and electricity. Suggestions?
I got the windows in my townhome replaced a few months ago. I went with http://www.tomthewindowman.com . Tom will come out to measure and give you a free estimate. Here are my new windows:
They would likely have to use the radiant barrier paint since your place is already built. I've heard a lot about it too and it seems like a good deal. I just wish it would have been done before my house was built.
I have heard everything from it is great to it is a ripoff. A guy that is a builder, and I trust him says it will knock off about 100-120 bucks a year off your bill. But he did mention that new homes are so well-built to be energy star compliant that your bill shouldn't be that high in the first place. For a older home, I think it probably will be worth it.
This guy knows his stuff, but he's also biased towards his advertisers. I always take his reccomendations with a grain of salt.
I thought he got in trouble with 740AM because he wouldn't advertise certain products. or is it the other way around?
So basically, nothing definitive about radiant barriers. I can't seem to get any real feedback. Anybody actually install one of these things? I'm encouraged about this older home thing. I've got a 2 story with the third floor essentially converted into another room and we spend a lot of time up there. So the insulation is pretty crappy and the AC runs 24/7 this time of year. Should I just reinsulate or should I do both Radiant Barrier and insulation? That's really the question I'm after.
As a Home Inspector, I’m in a lot of attics and can tell you will out a doubt that Radiant barriers work great. ( I’m talking 20 – 30 degrees cooler sometimes ) As far as I’m concerned every new home in this part of the country should have in installed during construction. ( The foil type laminated to the roof decking ) Older homes should go with the paint sprayed directly to the decking / rafters. Just my .02
Its called Techshield and I agree 100%. Some builders still don't use it. Not sure why not because its only about $12 a sheet v. $8 a sheet for OSB.
We had the techshield stuff installed when we had our house built. About windows, I was talking with my brother in law from Sweden when they were here and he said that in northern Sweden where they live (north of the arctic circle) they have triple pane windows. I didn't even know those existed.
You should really think about the radiant barrier stuff before buying... if it's the "paint on" kind of radiant barrier, some places charge a ton of money for that. Consider your monthly savings and divide that into the cost of the application to arrive at how many months it would take for you to break even on the cost. Will you be in the house that long? I know some companies charge over $3000 for that stuff. I've heard mixed reviews on the radiant barrier you spray on. Oh yeah, and as the barrier gets dustier/coated with dust, the less effective it becomes over time... gee, I wonder if your attic is dusty? As for the windows, I dunno, but the Low E/double pane glass is pretty much standard where I live.
Interesting. So anybody have any experience with "spray on" radiant barriers? Maybe that's why you hear mixed reviews on these. If you install "techshield" during building, then that helps. But if you do the "spray-on" then it's a rip-off?
