Alex Johnson copyright 11/1994
Our discovery of how insulation stores heat was revealed after we did full scale testing on two identical homes built in Mesa AZ in 1990.  One home was insulated to code with R19 in the walls and R30 in the attic.  The test home was built using no conventional insulation, only our patented radiant barrier product.   
The homes were monitored by Arizona State University and headed up by Dr. Byard Wood.  The homes were completed and occupied in December of 1990 and testing was ongoing for 12 months.  The home with radiant barrier was occupied by a family of eight while the insulation home had a working couple who turned the thermostat up while they were gone during the day at work.  The radiant barrier home had the thermostat set at 78F.  Despite these obvious differences where one would expect the radiant barrier house to use more power because of the differences in where the thermostats were set, a reduction in consumption of 35% was seen and the home was far more comfortable. 

Related links and stories: 
ABC Channel 15 News story 11/05/2009:  Click here
Republic Newspaper article 3/11/2012:      Click here
Maricopa County Home Show radio blog:  Click here

Here's a simple way to look at it:  Wardrobes, like buildings, need to be "Climate Specifictm".  You would not wear a jacket and sweater in a hot sunny enviroment, soaked in infrared heat to keep the heat out.  Why would you think that adding insulation in building would be any different?  The  question then is how did our codes get written to allow this to happen?  The answer is a simple one:  US building codes are written in the frigid Midwest where sealing up a house, weather stripping your doors, upgrading your windows and adding more attic insulation are all benefits.  We know, we used to do that for our customers in Michigan.  Does it make any sense at all that no matter where a home is built it has the same building materials?  We need the archaic US building codes to address the "Climate Specifictm" needs of where a building is constructed. 

If the above is true (and can easily be verified), why are Phoenix utility companies offering incentives to make your house use more power and do not endorse radiant barriers?