Insulation, Radiant and Vapor Barriers - foil type insulations

:wall: Does anyone have any thoughts on the hi-tech foil insulations and if they are worth the money? I have been checking on certain ones that are double faced and have a polyfoam type inner that resistes moisture.If anyone has used any foil wrap or similar and can share info I would be grateful.

Thanks from Georgia
Eric K

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/radiant/rb_01.html

This is a fact sheet on Radiant Barriers. It does discuss payback and cost effectiveness of installations.

As with any insulation much depends upon what and where you want to add insulation.

The "fact sheet" on the Department of Energy site is extremely limited as it "was developed only for applications of radiant barriers in ventilated attics of residential buildings."

If you are considering using this product to control heat transfer from the attic to the living space in the summer time it will be of some benefit however that depends upon several factors as discussed in the fact sheet. Perhaps the most troubling fact is that over time it is expected that dust will accumulate thus rendering this product useless as it will no longer be able to reflect heat.

For winter heating concerns I wouldn't expect much performance by itself.