Effects of shingle absorptivity, radiant barrier emissivity, attic ventilation flowrate, and roof slope on the performance of radiant barriers

This paper presents a parametric study of the effects that shingle absorpti vity, radiant barrier emissivity, attic ventilation flowrate, and roof slop e have on the performance of radiant barriers in symmetrical residential at tics. A heat balance model was developed to investigate these effects. The model was validated against experimental data and was found to predict with good accuracy. Of the four parameters investigated, only emissivity of the radiant barriers had first-order effects on their performance. Variations in the performance of the horizontal radiant barrier (HRB) configuration we re minimal in the other three parameters. The truss radiant barrier (TRB) c onfiguration showed slightly more variations because of the presence of unc overed end-gables. This paper presents a brief description of the heat bala nce model, the parametric studies and conclusions. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.