Your attic is often the hottest part of your house. With the sun beating down on your roof, solar heat can radiate through to the open space between your roofing and whatever rooms are below to create a significantly hotter area than the rest of your house. You’ll find that a hot attic makes it more difficult to maintain a comfortable temperature in the rest of your home as heat leaks to the main levels. At St. Louis Insulation, we can help you reduce your energy bills with a radiant heat shield attic. If you’re not sure what a radiant heat shield is or how it can save you money, read our guide below for more information.

What is a radiant heat shield?

Your roof takes on a lot of heat throughout the day. It doesn’t matter if it’s 50 degrees or 100 degrees, heat from the sun can heat up the surface of your rooftop, which will radiate through to your attic and warm it up. A radiant heat shield is essentially a foil blanket that’s installed to the ceiling of your attic with an airtight seal to prevent that heat from warming up the air in your attic. You can also have foil installed on plastic or cardboard then placed on the ceiling and walls of your attic.

Rather than working like a blanket to trap the heat in the open space of the attic, the heat shield reflects warm air back through the roof. You’ll find that your attic doesn’t get nearly as hot, and it’s easier to maintain a regular temperature.

How will it save me money?

An attic that heats up through the summer will leak warm air into the rest of your house. While it might not seem like it’s that big of a deal to have a little bit of hot air coming from your attic into the main living areas of your home, it certainly adds up. You’ll find that your radiant heat shield attic makes it much easier to maintain a comfortable temperature in your home without running your air conditioner for long periods of time.

If your attic houses ductwork, a heat shield can help to keep your air ducts from getting hot and warming up conditioned air before it flows into your home. What’s more, you’ll find that it’s more comfortable to go up in your attic if you store belongings like holiday decorations or seasonal equipment.

Is a heat shield right for my attic?

A heat shield isn’t right for the attic in every home. Individuals who live in cold climates won’t enjoy as much of a benefit from installing a heat shield in their attic. While it doesn’t often get scorching hot during the summer here in St. Louis, we get enough sunny days with temperatures in the 80s and 90s that your home will likely benefit from installing a radiant heath shield in your attic.

Schedule a consultation

You can learn more about installing a radiant heat shield in your attic to improve your home's climate control. Get in touch with our team at St. Louis Insulation, and we can come to your home to perform an evaluation. We’ll look at factors like the amount of radiant heat that gets trapped in your attic and how much is leaking into the living areas. Give us a call today at 314-334-0153 or send an email to support@stlouisconsultation.com to book your consultation. We’ll let you know if a heat shield is right for your attic.