A perspective on the effect of climate and local environmental variables on the performance of attic radiant barriers in the United States

This paper offers a perspective on how climate and local environmental variables affect the performance of attic radiant barriers across the United States. Transient heat and mass transfer simulations were performed on a vented triangular attic with insulation level of 3.5m2K/W (R-19) and the results were based on integrated hourly ceiling heat fluxes over 3-month periods during the cooling season. The ceiling heat transfer percent reductions ranged from 36.8% in the Tropical Savanna climate to 2.3% in the Mediterranean climate. Peak-hour percent reductions in ceiling heat flux ranged from almost 100% in the Marine West Coast climate to 23% in the Desert climate. The results suggested that local ambient air temperature, humidity, cloud cover index, and altitude had first-order effects. The amount of local solar radiation had no effect on the performance of the systems.