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Anyone have any experience doing this or have had it done to your home?
-Did it help save you money on your electric bill and how much percentage wise?
-If you spayed on one coat , how soon after can you apply the second coat?
-How much per sq/ft did you pay for paint/coating, labor......how much did it cost you total?
- How long was the crew at your home?
- What kind of equipment did they use......would a 3/4 hp .40 GPM airless get the job done?
You will spend about 10k give or take a few thousand. It does dramatically lower the temps of an attic in the summer and vice versa in the winter, but the pay back would be a long, long, long time. Add ventilation to the attic if necessary and have additional fiberglass blown in for a fraction of the price.
I am not adverse to spray foam in the attics, it is just not cost effective in most applications.
A negative to spray foam is it is harder to diagnose, or even notice, a roof leak.
The foil variety of radiant barrier can be installed if you do it yourself for under $250 or so. The break even point on our old house was in just a few months since we had such a large southern exposure to the roof.
I do hear that foam is more effective attic insulation, but don't have any first hand experience with it.
While I don't have any experience with the spray radiant barrier installation, I've done quite a few of the foil radiant barriers. As scuba steve said, it's a fraction of the price and the return is a lot faster (due to the installation cost being so low).
As an example of savings, my sister had it installed in the attic of her 100+ year old house in Jacksonville, FL. Her electric bill in the summer went from an average of $900 to an average of just over $600 (30% difference). She had it installed by someone else (I wasn't here at the time), and paid about $1000 for the installation and materials. In one summer it paid for itself in savings.
Anyone have any experience doing this or have had it done to your home?
No and No.
But, I can attest to this- the efficiency of sprayed on barrier is anywhere from 20% to about 75% max (that would be a "perfect" spray/install job. The average for radiant barrier sheathing is 97%. The other problem I have with "painted" radiant barrier is not being able to see the condition of the seathing or rafters because they are "painted".
The problem with aftermarket/post framing foil is numerous. First efficiency is in the 75-80% range. The foil can hide roof leaks, it limits ventilation to the rafter cavities, it can fall down due to inadequate securing devices if not constantly monitered.
What decrease in roofing system life is there as a result of the radiant barrier reflecting radiation back though the roofing system? After all, that's how it works, and the roofing system will see twice the exposure to radiation as a result. Anybody got a life-cycle cost analysis equating energy saving plus radiant barrier installation cost versus reducted roofing system life/replacement cost? I've never seen one ... and I've contacted over a dozen radiant barrier contractors.
What decrease in roofing system life is there as a result of the radiant barrier reflecting radiation back though the roofing system? After all, that's how it works, and the roofing system will see twice the exposure to radiation as a result. Anybody got a life-cycle cost analysis equating energy saving plus radiant barrier installation cost versus reducted roofing system life/replacement cost? I've never seen one ... and I've contacted over a dozen radiant barrier contractors.
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