I live in South Carolina and noticed frost on the radiant barrier in the attic. It was near the soffit. Is this an issue?
Thanks
The home was built on 2018 and there was plenty of insulation and soffit and ridgevents were present.
Hi, Chad.
A picture would help.
Where is the barrier facing?
What was the barrier installed on?
What type of HVAC?
Any HVAC components in the attic?
What are the temps?
Is it causing damage you can see?
A radiant barrier is a reflector that is also highly conductive.
Based on your regional location, I will bet that you have high humidity during the day and cold nights during this global warming season 
.
The radiant barrier does not absorb heat because it is reflective. It also conducts heat away from the attic, thus becoming closer to the outdoor temps. Condensation freezes when there is no solar loading at night. The sky is around -70F on a clear night. Hot goes to cold.
You are in the same region as me, and during the day there is a lot of heat in the attic/knee walls (often warmer than the indoor air), which allows the air to hold more moisture. At night, it sheds the moisture like squeezing a wet sponge.
It should evaporate as water or sublimation from ice directly to a vapor. If it causes water damage, you need to look closer to the ventilation of the space.
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Barrier facing down on opposite side of shingles. The barrier was glued to the underside of the osb. It’s all you can see in the attic. Gas furnace present and outside temperature was about 35 to 40 degrees.
I should add that there was frost on the roof as well
And I could not see any water damage. Is it worth noting in the report? If it just evaporates it sounds like this was normal.
Hi Chad, I personally would follow David’s advice. Was there damage? Was there an obvious ventilation issue? If not, move on.
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Which way should it face?
Depends where you live…
He is in South Carolina, I am in Georgia a neighboring state with similar climate. In my region it is always visible or facing down. I am just curious if the barrier is actually effective.
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