Can you get covers for downlights?
Downlight covers, also known as downlight fire hoods, are often used when installing downlights into a ceiling below an attic as they are designed to protect the unit once covered in insulation.
Can you cover LED downlights?
With the introduction of IC Rated LED Downlights, they can now be covered with insulation without question. Well, not completely without question… Even though a LED advertises an IC rating, they have not been tested for their lamp life under insulation.
Do I need a fire hood with fire rated downlights?
If you cut a hole in the ceiling you are compromising that fire barrier. So that is why in general you need to install fire hood or use fire rated fittings. Its a common misconception that downlighters are fire rated so the heat produced from the fitting either will won’t happen or they will not catch alight.
How do you protect downlights from insulation?
The loft lid creates a barrier between the downlight and the thermal insulation. The insulation can then be laid over the loft lid and packed to the sides if necessary. Loft caps or loft lids for downlights can be used with either fire rated or non fire rated downlights.
Can you put Rockwool over downlights?
Halogen downlights run at quite high temperatures, so it’s extremely important to ensure that they’re not covered directly with mineral wool insulation. Due to these high temperatures, halogen downlights require a volume of air around them to ensure that any heat generated is safely dissipated.
How do you make downlights airtight?
Thankfully, there’s a solution! A downlight cover such as the Loft Lid, if sealed with a silicone sealant or mastic, creates an airtight seal around the fitting, maintaining the ceiling’s airtightness. This will ensure that no heat is unnecessarily lost through the fitting, into the loft.
Do you need fire hoods with LED downlights?
However if your LED spotlights are NOT fire rated, and they are installed in a room where there is a living space above (bedroom, bathroom or landing etc) whether that living space belongs to you or not (upstairs flat), then you will need to have the fire hoods fitted.
How do I know if my downlights are fire rated?
The most obvious way to know if existing downlights are fire rated is by removing the light and checking for a sticker or label. This label should say that the light is fire rated. If there is no label to say that the light is fire rated, you can check for critical differences in the light’s design.
Are LED downlights a fire hazard?
LED downlights operate at lower temperatures, so they don’t bring the potential fire risks associated with halogen and compact fluorescent downlights.
What is a downlight fire hood?
Tenmat’s Downlight Fire Hoods (DFH) are designed to reinstate the fire resistance performance of ceilings and/or floor joist constructions where downlighters have been installed.
Are fire-resistant downlighters and hoods safe?
Fire-resistant downlighters and fire-resistant hoods are only acceptable if test evidence supports their use in a similar engineered joist floor build-up. In all floor types, insulation should be kept back from the light fitting to safely disperse the build up of heat around the driver/transformer and lamp.
Which downlighters should I use?
Non fire-rated downlighters, without further protection, should have fire test evidence for use in a similar solid joist floor build-up, or be fitted with fire hoods. Alternatively, fire resisting downlighters should be used.
Do recessed downlighters need to be fire resistant?
Fire-resistant downlighters and fire-resistant hoods are only acceptable if test evidence supports their use in a similar solid joist floor build-up. For engineered floor joists, it is recommended that all recessed downlighters be either fire resistant or fitted with fire hoods.