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Dulley's Money-Saving Tip #1080

Staple up reflective attic foil

(related column topic links - (411, 987)

The roof of your house acts like a huge solar collector in the summer. This heat radiates down to the ceiling below and into your house. This makes you uncomfortable and drives up your air-conditioning bills. Standard attic insulation on the attic floor is effective for blocking conductive heat transfer, but ineffective at blocking this radiant heat from the hot roof.

The easiest and least expensive method to block this heat is to staple reinforced aluminum foil under the roof rafters and make sure that you have adequate attic ventilation. I stapled it in my own attic and my second floor bedrooms wee noticeably cooler. Most building supply outlets will sell the reinforced foil in large rolls. It cost roughly 15 cents per square foot. This foil will not have any negative effective in the winter because there is very little heat radiated down in the winter.