Using insulation to its fullest potential requires, in part, knowledge of where it is most ideal to place insulation and where it is counterproductive to do so. Homeowners often wonder, for instance, if it is smart to place insulation above a suspended ceiling that uses acoustical tile. Careful consideration of some important characteristics of insulation and suspended acoustical ceilings will yield the answer to this question.
Ceiling Insulation
Insulating your home's ceiling is one of the most important and cost-effective ways of improving the energy efficiency and cost efficiency of your home. Ceiling insulation reduces heat loss in the winter and heat gains in the summer; it also helps equalize the temperature between the ceiling and the home below, increasing comfort for home residents. For maximum effectiveness, ceiling insulation should be continuous through the ceiling of the entire home and well-maintained.
Dropped Ceilings
Despite the need for continuity when insulating your home ceilings, some homeowners believe that installing insulation above a dropped ceiling will actually reduce energy efficiency. This is not the case -- installing insulation above a dropped acoustic tile ceiling can be an important component to a ceiling insulation strategy for the entire home. But like all insulation projects, it is important to design an installation strategy that takes into account the physical characteristics of suspended acoustic tile ceilings.
Insulation Strategy
Batt insulation is most commonly recommended for insulating above your suspended acoustic tile ceiling. Be sure to install batt insulation tightly, leaving no air space in between the pieces of insulation. One alternative to batt insulation is to replace the acoustic tiles in your suspended ceiling with insulated acoustic tiles. This is surely the more expensive option of the two, but this approach offers all the benefits of insulating above your suspended ceiling without adding to the weight of the ceiling or compromising any of the air space above the suspended ceiling.
Other Considerations
If you do opt to use batt insulation, it is often wise to have a contractor test your suspended ceiling to make sure that it will be able to structurally support the added weight of the insulation. Also note that the area above suspended ceilings is often used for air handling or fire protection, so it may also be a good idea to have a contractor verify that adding insulation will not negatively affect the intended design of the space above .
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