Owners of acreage or hobby farms are in a unique position. Whether they own a handful of horses, goats, cows, chickens or dogs (or maybe all?) they need practical solutions to protecting their animals from the winter weather. Unfortunately, most solutions are geared toward large-scale commercial applications and therefore cost prohibitive. Is the only option to not have animals around your spread? There may be at least another solution in radiant barrier.
Heat lamps and ceramic heaters can get costly, and a great deal of the heat produced is lost in the open spaces of barns and stalls. Many types of animals habitually group together out of either a communal instinct or a primal need to share body heat. Radiant barrier plays into those needs.
Unlike heat lamps or heaters which produce external sources of heat, radiant barrier serves as a way to contain heat by blocking its ability to pass to cooler spaces. For example, if radiant barrier were to line a stall where three goats slept at night, the radiant barrier would effectively contain the body heat those goats generated, preventing much of its loss to the elements. If the stall were to have a top as well as a slightly raised floor, heat conservation would increase still further.
Radiant barrier is made of 99% aluminum baked over a woven polyester scrim. The scrim makes the product durable and easy to handle, while the aluminum provides a highly reflective surface.
Place radiant barrier along the inside of that chicken coop you’re building, along all four sides, top and bottom. Use it to line dog houses as well.
In some cases you may want to cover the barrier with chicken wire or random 1×1 strips of wood in the event your animal likes to chew.
Sledding is just about one of my kids favorite pastimes. They live for the chance to go farther or faster than one of their siblings. Over the years, we’ve bought a number of really nice sleds and boards all claiming to be the best ride. Sometimes these pieces of equipment have been costly. Other times, they’ve just led to disappointment when the claims didn’t hold true, or the quality was so poor the item fell apart after a couple good-sized hills.
Being a thrifty and practical kind of person, I’ve found ways to duct tape some of them back together. I’ve used heavy coats of wax to make the bottoms more slick. I even went so far as to use a light piece of board and some screws to hold a couple of pieces which wanted to split together, just to eek a little more life out of the sled.
Inspiration came one day when I heard about my youngest using the wax paper from his sandwich to grease his way down the slide at the playground. My mind immediately turned to the reflective insulation I’d used to make our home more efficient by reducing the loss and gain of radiant heat through the attic. Turns out I still had some scraps of the reflective insulation in the garage, so I began cutting strips off for each of the kids to use.
A few weeks later, we got another good snowfall. It was time to test our theory that reflective insulation was so smooth and slick that it would make the best sled around. With a good sprint and a leap, my kids went sailing down the hill on their reflective insulation sled. Fun times! And a good way to make good use from leftover material.
You may be thinking ahead to spring already. With spring comes fresh new Honey-Do lists. Is getting a jump on the heat of summer top on your list? You can ward off blistering rays with radiant barrier.
Also called foil insulation or reflective foil, or even reflective insulation, this product is comprised of a woven polyester scrim surrounded by 99% aluminum coating. While easily cut with scissors or box cutters, it’s virtually impossible to tear – a characteristic which makes it easy to handle. Sold by the roll in several lengths, radiant barrier works in conjunction with existing insulation to block the flow of radiant heat from one area into another. While it may resemble aluminum foil, it’s definitely not a cooking product.
Radiant barrier should be installed in your attic when temps are mildest in your area. Not only does that help ensure that you don’t get overheated or that your fingers are warm enough to work properly, it means you’ll be getting the project done before the worst of the season arrives. In that way, radiant barrier can start saving you money immediately.
While it’s not critical to have another set of hands helping during the installation process, things can go more smoothly when someone else can unroll and cut the product, leaving you to staple and smooth along the rafters. It will also make the installation process move a little more quickly, a definite perk to any DIY project. Estimate one weekend afternoon to get the project completed.
If you’re interested in understanding just how well the product works, be sure to keep copies of your energy bills and make year-over-year comparisons of pre-installation and post-installation. Make note of any significant changes like the addition of another refrigerator or freezer, anything that might counterbalance a reduction in energy consumption provided by the radiant barrier.
I know, when you think of DIY projects, radiant barrier isn’t top on your list. It doesn’t even sound fun. You have a lot of options for improvements which may raise the value of your home while improving its comfort. Many of those methods are well known, like repainting, landscaping, theater rooms and the like. Other improvements are less glamorous and not visible to most visitors but offer significant return on investment. One of those improvements is beefing up the level of insulation in your home’s attic.
Alright, so it doesn’t sound glamorous. But attic insulation is critical to the overall comfort level of those which live within, to say nothing of the life of your HVAC system. Yours is probably working too hard as it is, reducing its life span. Consider consulting with your local electric cooperative or utility company to get specific ideas about improvements which could keep more money in your pocket and improve your home’s value.
Radiant barrier may be high on the list of “good things to do.” As a supplement to traditional mass insulation, radiant barrier is sold on long rolls, very similar to how aluminum foil or plastic wrap is packaged, only on a larger scale. Radiant barrier consists of a woven polyester scrim sandwiched between layers of 99% aluminum. The lightweight product is easy to carry but surprisingly strong, which makes it easy to handle. Cut with a scissor or box cutter, radiant barrier can be installed quickly between the joists in the attic (on the floor) and/or along the underside of the roof, on the rafters. It may also be used effectively in outbuildings, like barns or coops.
Radiant barrier works well in agriculture environments because it blocks the flow of radiant energy – in this case, heat generated from the bodies of farm animals – outward into the atmosphere. When placed inside between joists, radiant barrier reflects radiant energy back toward its point of origin. In conjunction with standard heating techniques likely already in place, radiant barrier in a barn will keep the interior temperature more consistent, causing the heating unit to cycle on less frequently and thereby consuming less energy.
Because installation is really relatively quick (a Saturday afternoon is all you need), give some real thought to this DIY project before you pick up a paint brush.
Are you familiar with a product called reflective insulation? It is also known as reflective foil or radiant barrier to some people. Have you wondered how this product works? It’s actually not new to the market, although not yet widely adopted by homebuilding companies across the nation. It’s primarily concentrated in hotter parts of the country like Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas.
Reflective insulation isn’t only for new homes. It’s actually one of the easiest home improvement or retrofit projects that can be done to an existing home. A bonus is that installing reflective insulation in an existing home will cause little or no disruption to the family living within the home at the time.
For many other improvement projects, the family living in the home might experience a disruption in their everyday lives were they to retrofit any area of their home. In some cases, improvement projects even open up other unexpected issues when it comes to code and new standards. Fortunately, reflective insulation isn’t affected by any of that.
Your home may already have traditional or mass insulation up in the attic. Typically known as “the pink stuff,” much of the mass insulation in homes today is made from fiberglass and exists in long sheets of batting or perhaps loose fill. When placed between the joists in your attic’s floor, mass insulation slows down the transfer of heat from your home’s interior up through the attic and into the atmosphere. Unfortunately, slowing down this process does not limit it all together. Once mass insulation absorbs all it can, it emits the excess heat. In this manner, your HVAC system may be constantly working to make up the difference lost through the roof.
Reflective insulation is a thin, lightweight product made of 99% aluminum and a polyester scrim inner core. While very easily cut, the product is difficult to tear, which makes it easy to handle and install with a simple box cutting knife.
Reflective insulation may be laid on top of traditional insulation across the floor joists. Spaces between the layers are fine, and in fact may be necessary to prevent excessive condensation from building up. When placed on the roof rafters, reflective insulation also works in the summer to keep the sun’s hot rays from penetrating into the home through the attic. Your HVAC works less and the temperatures of your home stay more consistent.
Overall, the effect should greatly lessen the amount of radiant heat lost into the atmosphere through your attic. Your HVAC system will work less hard, saving you money and wear and tear on an expensive home appliance.