April 24, 2012. If you currently only using a mass insulation in your house, adding a reflective insulation to your attic, walls and crawlspace will substantially reduce your heating and cooling bills. The bulk of your heat loss and gain is due to radiant heat transfer. Mass insulations do not protect against radiant heat transfer.
Prodex Total house insulation is paramount in creating a more comfortable and energy efficient house, keeping you cooler in summer and warmer in the winter. Prodex Total is More than a Radiant barrier - It's Also a Reflective Insulation (R-value 15.67) And a Vapor Barrier - All in one product! The radiant barrier component keep your home cool in the summer. The high R-value keeps your home warm in winter. The vapor barrier protects your home from water damage.
Prodex Total house insulation is an absolute must in warmer climates. In colder climates, Prodex adds a high R-value that is not affected by humidity, bridging or pinching. As stated, it provides a vapor barrier, radiant heat barrier and R-value. Prodex Total house insulation reduces radiant heat transfer through the attic by 97%. Installing Prodex in the attic roof means that the heat from the sun will be reflected back out of your attic instead of crossing the airspace to be absorbed by the insulation on the attic floor and then radiated down into your house below. Similarly, adding Prodex Perforated house insulation can reduce the loss of heat from the attic floor to the roof sheathing in cold weather by reflecting the heat in your house back downward.
Prodex Total Insulation is not effected by moisture and can completely replace older insulation materials in many areas. Prodex Total can also be used effectively in conjunction with other bulk insulation materials in colder climates. In a typical house, up to 30 percent of the heat is lost through the roof. Adding Prodex Total house insulation is an easy upgrade. It's a common DIY house insulation retrofit project. Prodex Total house insulation can be easily added to an existing attic as it hangs below the rafters. See installation
Basements and Crawlspaces: Due to their underground environment, basements and crawl spaces have different insulation requirements than the house above. Moisture is the primary consideration in developing either a basement or crawlspace insulation strategy. Excess moisture can cause mold, mildew, odors, decay, fungus growth and wood rot. More...
Attics and roofs: Heat gain is higher in the attic because the sun is beating down on it all day (it's not uncommon to have summer daytime temperatures in an attic cavity that exceeds 150 degrees F). Because heat rises, you'll have more winter heat loss through your attic roof than through your walls; therefore, it is more important having a higher R in the roof than the walls. The sun's heat is absorbed by a roof, heating the roof sheathing and causing the underside of the sheathing and the roof framing to radiate downward toward the attic floor. When Prodex Total house insulation is placed above the roofing or directly underneath the roofing material, much of the heat radiated from the hot roof is reflected back out through the roof. This results in a cooler house and a reduction in your cooling costs.
Will the product hurt my shingles? No, absolutely not. There has been significant testing on this issue and it has shown that a radiant barrier installed in a residential attic will not harm the shingles.
While Cellulose, fiberglass, spray foam and rockwool are made to resist or impede the flow of warm air, Prodex Total house insulation does this plus reflects back infra-red energy from the sun so it does not penetrate the house. It can reflect back radiant heat inside the house so it does not escape. The concept is simple each unit of radiant heat energy that is reflected away from your house in summer and each unit reflected back inside during winter means less operation of your air conditioning and heating systems, less wear and tear on your equipment, and less money you pay in utility cost.
Installing Prodex Total in your house
Compare Prodex Total Insulation to other insulations
Investment Payback: The cost of insulation is measured as the time to payback the initial cost of the insulation through energy savings. Payback is calculated by dividing the initial cost of the house insulation by the annual amount of savings in energy costs. Economic gains from installing insulation in the attic are well documented. Studies show that an attic insulation with a radiant barrier component can save as much as 17 percent on air conditioning energy costs. Research conducted by the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) has shown that the installation of a house insulation with a radiant barrier component can generate significant financial savings. About 22 percent of the heat gain in a typical Florida house comes through the attic. A house insulation with a radiant barrier component reduces heat gain through the roof by about 40 percent. The summer peak energy use savings was as much as 27 percent. This study also showed that the average peak reduction from the insulation with a radiant barrier component was three times as great as the savings produced by adding more fiberglass insulation (a change from R-13 to R-19). Whole house tests run by the Mineral Insulation Manufacturers Association and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory show the average reductions in ceiling heat flow from the addition of insulation with a radiant barrier stapled under the rafters between 24 and 30 percent compared with R 19 attic floor insulation and no attic radiant barrier insulation. The US Department of Energy Attic Radiant Barrier Fact Sheet (DOE/CE-0335P) states that reductions in the cost of cooling can reach up to 17% by proper installation of an attic radiant barrier. The Oxford City Council has estimated that the cost to add insulation to an un-insulated attic will pay back in 2 years. Estimates are that insulating an un-insulated attic saves 25 percent on heating costs in cold climates. Heavily insulating the attic (R value + radiant barrier) is usually seen as a worthwhile investment. You can almost never have too much insulation. Remember Prodex Total House insulation adds a radiant barrier + R-value 15.67 + vapor barrier.