Consider a metal building used as a youth basketball gym in Northern Utah. Although insulated to code, the facility was unusable in the months of July and August. Air conditioners couldn’t keep up with the heat.
In May, a thin, reflective material was installed in the building’s rafters. Even during the hottest summer on record, the building was continuously used.
The reflective material, called RadiaSource, acts as a reflective shield, keeping heat out in the summer and in during the winter. The same technology has been used for suits in the space program to prevent heat gain and loss in the extremes of outer space.
Although the technology has been around for a while, practical applications outside of space have developed only in the last couple of years, as manufacturers learned how to handle the problem of oxidation.
The Department of Energy concluded during a roof study that this technology provides the best opportunity for return on investment when compared with cool-color roofs, ventilation or mass insulation. Standard Examiner
