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Insulation on Suspended Ceiling Tiles PDF Print E-mail
Written by Andrew Thiess   
Monday, 16 February 2009 00:00
Andrew Thiess, Professional EngineerI am often confronted with the situation where a contractor wants to install insulation on suspended ceiling tiles.  Common themes are, "this just moves the building envelope to the suspended ceiling", or "we do this all the time..."

Both the IECC and ASHRAE prohibit the installation of insulation on suspended ceiling tiles for energy code compliance.  IECC 2006, Section 502.2.1, states, "Insulation installed on a suspended ceiling with removable ceiling tiles shall not be considered part of the minimum thermal resistance of the roof insulation".  ASHRAE 90.1-2007, Section 5.8.1.8 states, "The roof insulation shall not be installed on a suspended ceiling with removable ceiling panels."

The reason is the proper sealing of the building envelope to prevent air leakage.  If the roof insulation is placed on the suspended ceiling, the suspended ceiling becomes part of the building envelope.  Suspended ceilings, however, do not meet IECC 2006, Section 502.4.3, "Sealing the Building Envelope", requiring that all joints and seams of the building envelope be sealed.  Suspended ceiling tiles are designed to be removable, and are therefore not typically sealed at the connections with the runner grid.  Using a suspended ceiling as part of the building envelope will result in a significant loss of energy through air leakage between the conditioned space and the uninsulated area above.

Insulation can be placed on a drop-down ceiling for additional heat or noise insulation, but no energy credit is given.  It cannot replace the roof insulation and does not count toward energy code compliance.   For more information, see http://resourcecenter.pnl.gov/cocoon/morf/ResourceCenter/article//143.


For information on Overland Assessments, contact:
Andrew Thiess, PMP, PE
phone: (832) 250-2899
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