EFFECT OF A RADIANT BARRIER ON THE COOLING LOAD OF A RESIDENTIAL APPLICATION IN A HOT AND ARID REGION - ATTIC DUCT EFFECT

A computer simulation showed that an attic radiant barrier system (RBS ) (a commercial product laminated to the underside of the roof sheathi ng) significantly reduces cooling load requirements in hot desert clim ates. This reduction was due to both a reduction in sensible hear tran sfer through the ceiling and an even greater reduction in losses (heat pickup) by the HVAC ducting system in the attic. These reductions wer e around 16% in runtime over the daytime hours and an overall 9% reduc tion over a five-day period. This latter effect indicates the need to improve current duct-loss calculation methods.