Using No-Tear Radiant Barrier in your attic

Why should I use No-Tear in my attic? Since most of the heat is lost or gained through the attic, this is the most important area to insulate. By installing No-Tear Radiant Barrier on the attic floor or roof, you will greatly reduce the amount of summer heat coming into your house, or winter heat leaving your house. This will increase your comfort, reduce the amount of time your air conditioner or heater runs, which in turn lowers your utility costs. Can't I just use regular reflective insulation? No. Since regular rFoil reflective insulation is also a vapor barrier, any moisture leaving your house will be trapped and soak into the bulk insulation already in place. After that, the insulation will be ineffective, and you could start getting water spots on the ceiling.

Will No-Tear really reduce my utility bills by 40%?

To be honest, maybe, maybe not (believe us, we hate to be that vague). Some insulation and/or window companies will tell you that you will save that much money. But the ones who: 1) know what they're doing, and 2) are honest about it will tell you that you won't know until you get it into your house.

It really all depends on the age of the house. We've had customers in 150 year old houses save as much as 40% on their overall utility costs, and other customers in 5 year old houses who saw a 5% savings. According to a study by the Florida Solar Energy Commission, a typical house can save anywhere from 8 to 16% on total utility costs, but those tend to be houses 10 - 20 years old or less.

Here's why it varies: If your house is older, and it doesn't have as much insulation in the attic, you're paying an awful lot of money to get rid of that unwanted heat. In the winter, you're paying a lot of money to replace the escaping heat. But if you put No-Tear in your attic, you'll reflect out the summer heat and keep in the winter heat. By doing that, your AC or furnace won't run nearly as long or as often, which will in turn reduce your utility costs.

If your house is fairly new, then the attic insulation hasn't settled nearly as much, which means you're still getting some benefit from it. But as we discussed previously, no amount of bulk insulation can stop more than 20% of radiant heat, which is 90% of all summer heat gain and 75% of all winter heat loss.

The easiest way to tell is to take a look in your attic. If your insulation is less than 12" thick, you're probably gaining and losing more heat than you should. If it's more than 12"thick, you're doing fine right now, but be sure to check it out every Spring to make sure.

How much No-Tear radiant barrier do I need?

Multiply the length of your attic by the width. That's the number of square feet you will need. For example, a 28 x 50 house needs 1400 sq. ft.

Would you rather put No-Tear on your roofline? Divide the total square feet by .85 (that's point-85). That will account for the slope in the roof. Divide by .75 if you have a 8:12 roof pitch or greater. A 1400 sq. ft. house will need 1647 sq. ft.

Next, divide that number by 500 and round up to the next full number (1647 ÷ 500 = 3.294 = 4). That's the number of rolls you will need. Multiply that by $115 (price per roll, including shipping) for your total price.