Anyone used foil breather as a radiant barrier in loft?

[sjws1888]

Hi
I've been reading about how you can attach foil breather membrane to the underside of rafters in the loft space as a way of cooling the loft space in sunny weather, and therefore hopefully cooling the house a bit. This is known as a radiant barrier and basically works by reflecting the heat being given off by the hot roof tiles back at them rather than letting it enter the loft space.
In theory this sounds like an pealing option because it would only cost the price of a few rolls of foil breather membrane plus a few hours stapling it up.

So basically the theory sounds like it makes sense but I just wondered whether anyone on here has actually done this and if so, did it actually work in the real world?
If you've tried it I'd be glad to hear from you

Cheers

 

[mikeey84]

I'm not sure this would work.

Whilst reflecting radiant heat is a sound theory, hot air rises, so a lot of heat in a loft will be convection currents from the house.

Additionally, I'm not sure how much a hot loft adds to the heat in the house, given there is usually a load of insulation between the loft and the house.

I would say better to make blinds out of it for your windows on the sunny sides of your house.

 

[big-all]

may increase the heat iff it stops airflow that is essential to stop decay in the wood

 

[^woody^]

Nah, stop reading wherever you read that.

 

[StephenStephen]

If the house is too hot, then open the windows, and close the curtains