http://yellowbluetech.com

[blackthorn]

This outfit is hawking household insulation, making all kinds of claims relating to increased insulation qualities. My boy is looking at it as a possibility. He is in no hurry to make any kind of commitment, but we are curious if any of you know about this product(s)? Any information, good or bad will help.

[MaryB]

snake oil comes to mind... BBB complaint . Foil faced foam sheet would be more effective and actually provide some R value.

"
Complaint
The marketing grossly exaggerates utility savings from radiant barriers. Also, heat transfer in and out of buildings is grossly mischaracterized.
I attended an informational dinner on October 16, 2013 sponsored by YellowBlue Eco Tech at ****** ***** in ************ Nebraska. This complaint is about deceptive and misleading marketing used by YellowBlue in their promotion of their radiant "insulation" product, called the Multi-Layer Reflective Blanket or "Attic Blanket" for short. The presenter was ***** ********
The marketing accurately states that three forms of heat transfer exist: convection, conduction, and radiant, then promptly ignores any heat transfer means except for radiant (this is the only form of heat transfer that their product can block). Since all three forms of heat transfer occur simultaneously in a house, ignoring convection and conduction is grossly inaccurate.

The presentation prominently features examples of the use of radiant insulation in the space program. Since space is a vacuum, only radiant heat transfer is possible. Thus radiant insulation is admirably suited for applications in space. Since earth has atmosphere, radiant insulation it is far less suitable, as convection and conduction are more significant factors than radiant heat transfer, particularly in the climate where the presentation was being made.
The presentation also portrayed ALL heat transfer as occurring through the attic space/roof. Heat loss and heat gain occur through all surfaces-walls, windows, doors, and ground. Focusing on the attic space of a house as the sole driver for utility bills is gross misrepresentation.
The attic blanket is described by Yellow Blue's website as "two highly reflective aluminum surfaces ... joined by a blanket type substance." The thickness appeared to be about 1/4", yet in describing its insulating properties, Neagley claimed it "is an R-9." Department of Energy (DOE) states that "unlike traditional insulation materials, radiant barriers are highly reflective materials ... reducing cooling loads. As such, a radiant barrier has no inherent R-value."< http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/insulation> The Nebraska Energy Office determined that an acceptable R-value claim for a different radiant product with 3/8" thickness to be R-1.45, so something in the range of R-1 is a more reasonable value for the attic blanket.
The presenter repeatedly used the phrase that the attic blanket would stop "up to 95% of the heat gain in the summer, Up to 75% of heat loss in winter." This statement is inaccurate because it omits the details that would make it true. To make the statement truthful, it would have to read that the radiant barrier would stop up to 95% of RADIANT heat gain THROUGH THE ATTIC in the summer, and up to 75% of RADIANT heat loss THROUGH THE ATTIC in the winter. Without those details, the statement is FALSE. The presenter also stated that the DOE showed that traditional insulation stops only 10% of radiant heat loss and gain. However, he then went on to repeatedly use the phrasing "traditional insulation stops as little as 10% of heat gain in the summer: as little as 10% of the heat loss in winter." Without specifying RADIANT heat loss and RADIANT heat gain, the statement is false.
The presentation includes a demonstration designed to only illustrate radiant energy transfer. Once again, this is deceptive marketing, since all three forms of heat transfer occur in a building.
Finally, the presenter showed a quotation, attributed to the Department of Energy: "At least 25 to 50% energy savings can be realized immediately." He implied that this referred to radiant barriers, and the extended implication was that this was true for their product applied only in the attic space. No such statement about radiant barriers could be located on DOE website. Conversely, DOE does state: "Some studies show that radiant barriers can reduce cooling costs 5% to 10% when used in a warm, sunny climate."< http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/radiant-barriers> This is inconsistent with the marketing statement."

[MtGun44]

Radiant heat loss is proportional to the absolute temperature to the 4th power, which means
that at relatively low temperatures, it is relatively a a small effect, rising very rapidly with
temperature. Notice that you can feel the radiant heat from a hot stove at maybe 400-500F,
but can't feel anything from a 120F surface beyond maybe 1" and even then only at super
sensitive parts like your upper lip or cheeks.

So, in summer if your roof deck is 160F, the there is a moderate amount of radiant heat
being transmitted from the inside surface to the top of your ceiling insulation. BUT in the
winter, when the heat of the home is something like 70F, the top surface of the ceiling
insulation is very low, perhaps only 5-10F warmer than the outside air on a cloudy day,
then very, very little radiant heat going out from the top of the ceiling insulation layer.

The short version is that radiant heat barriers are more likely to help lower AC costs in
a very hot climate than to lower winter heating costs in a very cold climate. Actually,
if you think about it - on a bright sunny day in winter, if the attic heats up, that is a
good thing - the temp difference between the ceiling side and the attic side of the insulation
layer is lower - so less heat is lost. Might wind up blocking heat trying to get in on those
sunny days in winter, depends a lot on climate.

IMO, the only way a radiant barrier makes sense economically is if you put it in yourself.
Stapling shiny mylar film to the bottoms of the rafters everywhere in the attic isn't exactly
rocket science. The stuff is available at home stores and not too expensive. 4ft wide
by 100 ft long roll at Lowe's online for $165. Spend a day or so crawling in the attic
with a roll of plastic film and a stapler (hammer stapler is HIGHLY recommended if you
have never used one) and then you can find our for yourself for maybe $500-800.

The biggest bang for your buck in home heating costs is BY FAR for most homes, to buy a
case of top grade caulk and caulk the heck out of everything on the outside that even LOOKS
like a crack. The losses from infiltration (hot air leaving or cold air entering) are HUGE.
Window weatherstripping and door sweep and edge weatherstripping can be cheap and a
huge savings, too.

After that, look at putting in more attic insulation, it will pay off quickly. Then - if you
want to go crazy, rip out the sheetrock and add 2" on top of each stud and put in
5.5" of wall insulation compared to the typical 3.5" insulation. . . . Either a lot of
money or a lot of work, depending on how handy you are. Do this and you change
your walls from ~R12 to ~R20, so you cut heatflow through the walls by about 40%.
That is a big deal, especially if you have already fixed the air leaks and added
attic insulation. But it is very disruptive, and unless you are handy and can do it all
yourself, very expensive.

Bill

[Charley]

Radiant barriers make a lot of sense, depending on the climate you are in. I have warm weather for about three months per year, and hot weather for about seven months. Radiant barrier helps where I am, keeps my attic about 20-25 F cooler than an attic without it. Spray in radiant barriers work, too, but are somewhat less efficient. If I were in a cold climate, I'd go for spray in foam, or fiberglass. The Yellowblue website is long on claim, and short on information. I'd look for alternatives... Their response to the BBB claim is interesting as well. Person complaining went to an "informational dinner" given by what he thought was yellowblue. YB says, "no, we don't do that, must have been somebody we wholesaled to". You can bet their marketing people suggested to the contracting company that informational dinners are a good way to net suckers, while leaving their company off the hook, so to speak. How a company markets speaks volumes, if you pay attention to the marketing aspect.

[MT Gianni]

Local people with offices that support local programs [Little league, etc] and are there if problems arise are always a good choice.

[blackthorn]

Thanks to all who replied.