Energy Armor™ How It Works
What should I know?
Before we talk about Low-E Insulation we need to define three thermal values. The first being ‘R’, the second being ‘U’ and the third being ‘E’.
U-values are a measure of a materials ability to conduct heat. The thermal performance of windows and doors is commonly stated in U-values.
R-values are the measure of the resistance to heat flow and are the reverse of U-values:
E-values or the ‘E’ in Low-E stands for Emissivity. Emissivity is the ability of a surface to emit or transfer radiant energy through itself - everything has an E-value. If you heat the inside of a cast iron stove you can feel the heat come off the outside. Cast Iron has an Emissivity of 85%. So 85% of the inside temperature is transferred to the outside.
The graph on the previous web page shows that conduction only accounts for up to 7% of heat transfer. ’U’ & ’R’ values play such a small part in stopping the heat that is transferred in your home.
“So why do we put so much importance on ‘U’ & ‘R’ values”??
No matter how high the R value or low the U value on an insulation product is, unless it has a low E value, it has no ability to reflect radiant energy. Very high R values don’t stop heat transfer, they simply slow it down. So again, no matter how high the R value or how low the U value is a huge percentage of energy transfer is being ignored.
What is the answer?
For optimum thermal performance, you need an insulation product with high R values and low E values.
The primary function of Energy Armor is to reduce the transfer of radiant energy.
Energy Armor is made from pure aluminium and has an e-value of 0.03 which means only 3% of radiant energy that comes in contact with its surface will pass through it. Or another way to look at it is that Energy Armor will reflect 97% of radiant energy that comes in contact with it.
A 1” airspace facing the aluminium is ideal because convection cannot begin to move air in this small a space. Keeping this in mind, you can see the importance of making certain that an airspace is maintained facing the aluminium on both sides if at all possible.
The airspace also works as an insulating thermal break.
Many radiant barrier companies will roll the foil radiant barrier over the attic insulation which is not recommended in Virginia. Laying over the insulation will compact your insulation reducing the R-Value. Tests have shown that laying over the insulation could cause moisture buildup resulting in mold issues. How it is installed is as important as the product itself.
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