What is Radiant Barrier Paint Anyway?

Radiant Barrier Spray Paint is essentially "liquid foil". All Radiant Barrier Paints are different, but basically pure aluminum is ground into a powder and put into a clear paint. Once the clear paint dries the aluminum powder forms a layer of aluminum. The best radiant barrier spray spray is only available to commercial contractors, and is an environmentally safe, water-based low-e paint called HeatBloc-75, Radiance e.25. or Lo/MIT. When the spray is installed CORRECTLY it will reflect about 75% of the radiant heat and can be a good product.

Getting good results with radiant barrier paint assumes a couple of things: First, that the rafters are being sprayed completely (this usually costs more). Second, the paint is being applied with the correct coverage (many spray contractors put it on too thin or too thick). Finally, there are some contractors (even large ones who advertise heavily) that will cut the paint with WATER to extend the coverage. This is called "Cutting" and it is cheating to cut costs. As a result, the TRUE EFFECTIVENESS of radiant barrier paint installed by many contractors is really only about 15-40% reflectivity. The typical consumer can't tell the difference between a good installation and a poor job without testing.

Finally, Radiant Barrier Spray Paint is NOT a good Do It Yourself Project. The fumes are noxious, you MUST use a VOC Respirator, you need a high-end airless spray rig, know what size spray tip to use and the proper pressure to get correct coverage and eliminate cloggage. Painting with a roller is impossible since there are thousands of nails sticking through the roof deck and using a brush would take forever.

Basically you are counting on the PRODUCT to do the work not a PERSON. If the foil is installed somewhere between the roof or rafters and the insulation it WILL reflect 97% of the radiant heat. This is indisputable - Radiant Barrier Foil works! This is the difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control. You can ASSURE that reflective foil will work. You can only HOPE that the Radiant Barrier Spray is installed correctly.

Call Cool Attix today at 281-900-3524, we will do it right!

How to keep the Texas Heat Out

Everyday people ask me what is the single biggest thing they can do to improve efficiency and comfort in their home. When you live in Texas this is a huge concern. How do we keep out the Texas Heat?

I ask customers...How old is the home and where are the ducts located?
When I hear “home over 25 years old” a big red flags go up. Think of your house as one big refrigerator. Leaky ducts are like leaving the door open.

Duct leakage is generally measured as a percentage. For example, if you have 20% duct leakage this means that approximately 20% of the COLD air you are buying is being pushed OUT of the ducts and into the attic. Or, duct leakage can also mean you are SUCKING cold attic air INTO the duct system on the return side of the air handler. On new High-Performance homes, professional energy auditors are usually shooting for less than 2-5% duct leakage. On older homes (especially with metal ducts) it is common to see duct leakage OVER 40%.

Why do older homes have such bad leaky ducts? Back in the era between about 1950-1980 NOBODY cared about energy efficiency. Energy was CHEAP, so installers usually didn’t bother to take the extra time or money to seal the ducts. For metal ducts this meant sliding two sections of duct together and using three screws to connect them. Then, they would wrap the ducts with insulation to keep them from sweating or condensing moisture, not primarily to insulate them.

After repairing or replacing all duct work it is IMPORTANT to Ventilate, Insulate and add Radiant Barrier Foil! This the key to a cooler more energy efficient home.

Spray is not a True Radiant Heat Barrier

A Radiant Heat Barrier will reflect heat AWAY from your attic and living space. Otherwise, the heat will simply penetrate into the living space. Some companies use spray on product which is not a True Radiant Barrier.

According to the U.S. Dept of Energy a radiant barrier must have a minimum of 90% reflectivity or 10% emissivity (our product is 97 and 3) and have a dead air space above it. Sprays under the best possible application will have 75% reflectivity and 25% emissivity and in real life most are FAR less than that. So spray satisfies neither requirement of a true radiant barrier.

We are not like other companies. We don't do it the easy way, we do it the RIGHT way. If we were to put your foil radiant barrier on the bottom of the attic that would be doing it the easy way. You might ask if by doing it the hard way that makes us more expensive, the answer is no. Although we are uncompromising in the quality of the work we do, our pricing is competitive.