Increasingly, downlights are being installed in homes as well as businesses.
However, few private consumers realise the importance of installing fire rated downlights rather than standard downlights.
Installing the right type of lighting can buy the occupants of a building the time they need to escape from that building in the event of a fire.
They also buy the actual building extra time by slowing down the spread of fire throughout the building. In situations where the fire crew arrive early much of the basic fabric of a building can potentially be save. This can be the difference between a building having to be demolished and rebuilt from the ground up or simply needing the interior stripped out and replaced.
For businesses and homeowners, this is important not only from a cost point of view. It takes far less time to replace the interior of a building than it does to demolish a building and rebuild it from scratch.
From a business point of view, this is very important. The quicker repairs can be completed the faster the business can get back up and running. For a homeowner this is also important because it means that the family can resettle into their home after a few months rather than having to wait a year or more for repairs to be completed.
Ceilings without Fire Rated Downlights are compromised
A ceiling that is not fitted with Fire Rated Downlights is a compromised ceiling. Your ceiling should work as a fire barrier, not a means for fire to spread. The small gap between the rim of a standard downlight and the ceiling itself presents a point for fire to gain purchase, once the ceiling itself is actually alight fire quickly spreads to the floor above.
The rim of Fire Rated Downlights are constructed to ensure that fire cannot easily gain purchase. There is effectively no gap between the edge of the light’s rim and the ceiling. Nor is there a gap around the point of the casing where the bulb fixture is located. In effect, there is a fireproof seal, which can give up to 90 minutes fire protection when installed into a ceiling built of fire retardant materials.
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