Thinking of purchasing home insulation or taking advantage of installing insulation with your roof replacement?

Well then, there are only two options - Radiant Barriers (known as reflective ) or ordinary traditional bulk insulation ie. Fibreglass, wastepaper/cellulose, wool, polyester, etc.

Which one is best for me?

The answer is simple, think of it this way, if you wanted to stay dry while standing in the rain, what could you do? You could use two different methods:

1. A big fluffy towel, made from cotton, wool, paper, polyester etc.
2. An umbrella, both would appear to work as well as each other at first. But eventually, the towels would soak up too much water and leak. The umbrella, however, would 'repel' the water and keep you dry indefinitely. The same principle applies when talking about radiant heat transfer. Both, 'bulk' and 'radiant barrier' systems, will appear to work well at first, but eventually the 'bulk' insulation will soak up too much heat and become less effective. It will also hold this heat and may make your home comparatively hotter during the summer nights . But a 'radiant barrier' system will repel the heat indefinitely - whether that means keeping it out in summer or in your home during winter. Reflective foil radiant barriers do not store unwanted heat within themselves.

Other Advantages

1. Particularly good for people with allergies, because it's safe, clean and has no fluff or fibre.

2. Extremely light and will not cause any sagging plaster damage. 100m2 of foil radiant barrier can weigh less than 12kg - this means there is no weight on the plaster ceiling. Some types of bulk insulation can result in hundreds of kilograms of material pressing directly on the back of the plaster - this causes sagging.

3. Won't retain water or moisture and will not create an environment for mildew or mould growth. (Some other insulations can cause ceiling damage and become an electrical hazard because they retain water and moisture).

4. Won't encourage vermin of any type, (just imagine how some paper and natural fibre products could attract mice, cockroaches and other types of pests to your home).

5. Excellent ignitability rating of 0. (On a scale of 0-20. Some other products are rated as high as 17).

6. Environmentally friendly so you can be sure you are doing the right thing by our environment. (Some other products contain dangerous chemicals and if they are ever removed from your house, under law they must be disposed of as dangerous waste).

7. It is as effective installed directly under the roof sheeting as it is installed at ceiling level. Therefore it is ideal for installation in conjunction with a roof replacement or in situations where there is limited ceiling space or limited acces to the ceiling cavity.

How Foil Insulation works in your home