ᐅ Insulating a Suspended Ceiling? Heat from Ceiling Spotlights?

Hello everyone,

the topic of insulation in our timber frame construction is still driving me crazy. After reading everywhere that even at the installation level it is important to avoid any gaps in the insulation, since air could circulate freely there, I made a special effort to prevent this (which was already quite challenging with all the pipes, cables, and ventilation ducts).

Now the electrician has instructed me, for the suspended ceilings, not to fill the full depth of the joists with acoustic insulation (mineral wool boards), but to leave some space so that the heat from the recessed ceiling lights can be dissipated. But wouldn’t this create exactly that kind of gap again? Or does it not matter because the ceiling above is not an exterior wall?

And how about the ridge beam under the attic roof? According to the insulation manufacturers, it is best to install a horizontal insulation layer below the ridge beam (since the ridge is a particularly critical spot), but then I wouldn’t be able to install recessed lights there either.

Insulation in the ceiling between two heated interior rooms makes little sense. Both surfaces are at the same temperature, so no heat can flow.

I would definitely insulate the ridge. Instead of recessed lights, you can switch to LEDs, as they generate almost no heat.

ajokr2025 schrieb:

Instead of spotlights, you can switch to LEDs, which generate almost no heat.

It will be about LED spotlights. There is practically nothing else anymore. And even those get slightly warm.

Thanks in advance for your answers!

Yes, it’s about LED spotlights, but they do emit some heat.
I’ve already spent many hours reading up on this: using spotlights under the ridge beam is widely discouraged since that area is particularly sensitive.
So I need to consider a different type of lighting (possibly wall-mounted lamps on the gable ends).

Either I leave the ridge beam exposed for now and see what happens, or I go ahead and take the effort to frame it in and insulate underneath without the spotlights (which involves quite a bit of cutting and fitting the insulation).

It is best to avoid recessed lights, as they were a trend in the late 1980s and 1990s. It is better to work with panels and moldings.

I agree with you about the 1990s style; I’ve thought the same. However, those LED strips in recessed coves don’t really impress me either, and right now everyone seems to be doing it. Soon people will say, "That was a trend in the 2020s. They covered everything with those LED strips" 😉

Maybe it’s better to just go with regular ceiling lights (except in the attic).