You know just when I think I have got it all figured out. Nothing goes right!!! I live in a 100 year old house that has a tin roof on LATHE not decking. It 108 degrees today. So, I you can tell its hotter than you know what in my attic. I bought some 1″ styrofoam with aluminum foil on one side. First of all does the foil face the attic or the tin? Anyways I have half facing tin and half facing attic, all cut in between the rafters. For conducting my own experiment. How can I cut my attic temp down, besides a fan. If I foam it would I still need some sort of attic fan or should it be compleetly closed up all the time??? PLease help I am so tired of dealing with this and I need professional help from you insulation guys. THANKS
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I forget to mention that my hot water heater and ac unit and ducts are in the attic.
From an insulation standpoint, it's something of a toss-up as to whether the single-sided foil should go up or down. Probably up is better for rejecting heat from above, but only if there are several inches between the foil and the roof.
There are a maybe a dozen different ways to insulate an attic reasonably effectively, each with its own trade-offs.
radiant heat is a function of the 4th power of absolute temperature difference. Hence, the foil shold face the the area with the highest temperature differential, in the case of your attic, thus, in a hot sothern climate, toward the roof in the summer.
Best would be both sides with reflective coating.