When researching eco building you often come across topics such as loft and wall insulation, double or triple glazing, underfloor heating and of course solar panels. So that’s walls, floors and roofs taken care of. But what about ceilings? Ceilings are often overlooked in the eco building conversation when some of the most conventional ceiling options are completely unsustainable. Ceiling options vary greatly in their sustainability and energy efficiency properties. In this blog we explore the different options and make the case for stretch ceilings if you want to make sure your ceiling is as sustainable as the rest of your building.
Sustainability
Did you know that all the common ceiling materials; plasterboard, plastered and suspended panels are all non-recyclable? Whereas stretch ceilings are 100% recyclable? They weigh a fraction of other materials so require less fuel and energy to transport. Install is simple too, rooms don’t need to be cleared or cleaned up after install and stretch ceilings create zero waste unlike other ceiling options. Finally, even though they are 100% recyclable, so it’s not an issue when the time comes, stretch ceilings have a longer shelf life than other ceiling materials. Most come with a product guarantee of 10 years or more. Whereas other options have a shelf life of a little as 5 years.
See a more detailed comparison of the sustainability of stretch ceilings versus other common ceiling materials here.
Energy efficiency
There are a number of reasons why stretch ceilings are more energy efficient than conventional ceiling materials. They require minimal energy to manufacture, install and maintain. They are installed below a building’s existing ceiling so they reduce the space you need to heat in a room. This also creates an air layer above the new ceiling that acts like double glazing to reduce energy loss, even more so if you put insulation in this air layer!
Easy Ceiling is a member of the University of Brighton’s Green Growth Programme. We worked with the University’s Thermal-efficiency academic experts to evaluate the energy efficiency of stretch ceilings. They concluded that stretch ceilings ‘grant excellent results in most scenarios, reducing the energy needs of the building, improving the indoor comfort conditions, and achieving up to 5 years payback time even in the absence of incentives. Additionally, in each scenario, the Easy Ceiling stretch ceiling solution outperformed traditional solutions in terms of energy performance and can achieve better financial returns thanks to the lower costs.’
Design options
If you are in the market for an eco ceiling you should be convinced by now that stretch ceilings are worth a look. But maybe you are worried that because it’s eco it won’t look very good. Well we would like to reassure you that stretch ceilings offer virtually unlimited design options. You can choose your favourite colour, it can be multi-level, shaped, transparent and mirrored. You can even print it with your favourite image or play around with the transparency to create different lighting effects like a cloudy blue sky or a twinkling starry evening.
Get in touch
Convinced now? Then please get in touch, we would be excited to talk about your project.