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What Radiant Heat Is
Naturally, heat travels from warm objects to cooler objects until all objects are the same temperature. The rate of heat flow increases the greater the temperature difference between the two objects.
Radiation is one way that warm objects transfer heat to cooler objects around it. The Sun is the best example: it is extremely hot and transfers that heat to the Earth by radiation (sunlight). When the area you live in is covered in clouds, the temperature is not as hot, because the clouds reflect much of that energy back into space.
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Objects that are not as hot as the sun may not glow, but they are still emitting radiant heat. This heat is just being emitted at wavelengths that your eye cannot see.
The roof of your house absorbs sunlight all day, heating up to around 130°F during the summer. The hot roof then emits radiant heat in all directions... including into your attic!
