Should i use fire rated downlights

Fire rated downlighters help slow the spread of fire, compared to traditional downlights. When you cut a hole into a ceiling and install recessed lights, you are reducing the existing fire rating of the ceiling.

This hole then allows for fire to escape and spread more easily between floors. Fire rated downlights have an important role in fire safety, as they effectively block the hole cut into the ceiling.

On each downlighter they have an intumescent pad, which will expand when it reaches a certain temperature, and ultimately slow the spread of fire. Different fire rated downlights have different fire rated times, varying from 30 to 90 minutes. Without fire rated downlights, it can mean that your ceiling collapses within just a few minutes compared to giving you extra time to get out to safety. It is highly recommended that all downlights installed are fire rated.

This is purely for your protection in your home, as they give you more time to escape a fire and help slow the fire spreading through floors. Fire rated downlights are used to restore the natural fire integrity of a ceiling. In the event of a fire, the intumescent material in a fire rated downlight melts or swells up and seals off the hole. The structure of most houses is made from wooden ceiling joists, once the ceiling joists are on fire they will inevitably collapse.

This could cause the entire building to collapse before anyone has had time to extinguish the fire fire service or escape to safety. If they're being installed into houses containing wooden ceiling joists then they should be fire rated. If the ceiling or structure is made from concrete then they may not need to be fire rated. They also provide added protection such as acoustic protection and moisture resistance. Non fire rated downlights are a gateway that will allow sound, air, moisture and fire to pass through unchallenged.

Part B of the Building Regulations covers fire safety, click on the image below to read the official guidelines for domestic use:.

The Electrical Safety Council recommends the use of fire rated downlights in almost all domestic installations, see below:. If in doubt, install fire rated downlights anyway, they cost slightly more but are safer and provide peace of mind.

About the Author: Chris Horridge. Allow Cookies. In these days of self-regulation and risk assessment, responsibility and liability can be a complicated area. Much will depend on the design specification requirements of the building. Where such a regime is supposed to be in place, at least part of the responsibility should be upon the inspectors.

Smaller projects may have no detailed light fitting specification or be subject to an inspection regime. In these cases an electrical engineer or fitter who pays no regard to FR light units is likely to be the person most responsible. How is downlight quality and effectiveness usually tested? Where a light unit is required to be FR rated, a responsible manufacturer will seek to have their products designed and constructed so to meet the test criteria in order for it to pass stringent live fire tests.

The results are recorded and reports sent to the manufacturer or sponsor of the tests. In addition, the responsible manufacturer will not only ensure rigorous standards are maintained throughout production but will also ensure that the finished product will be subject to batch testing; the more professional companies may even have their own in-house testing laboratories.

Will it be possible to incorporate new designs in downlights without compromising the effectiveness of the product?