When Does A False Ceiling Make Sense For Your Home?

A false ceiling is an extra, visible section of ceiling lying just beneath your primary ceiling that can add stylish flair, additional lighting, or camouflage for air ducts, pipes, or electrical wiring. Also called a suspended ceiling, false ceilings can have more practical uses, like creating an additional layer of insulation for a particularly chilly room or to dull the sound of your kids jumping around upstairs with soundproofed materials. An alternate version of a false ceiling, called a drop ceiling, is typically used in office buildings. Immediately recognizable by any bored office worker who's ever stared up from their cubicle, the square or rectangular fibreglass, metal, or mineral fiber tiles above are usually held in place by metal grids.

Where your home is concerned, a false ceiling can make a lot of sense if you're looking for ways to stylishly brighten a room in your home while also conserving energy. Just remember, because the addition of a false ceiling will automatically add a level of depth to your room, you'll get a better outcome if you have high ceilings — at least 7.5 feet — and ensure you use the appropriate materials for the job. Once you know if a false ceiling makes sense for your home, we have some guidance on how to choose the best materials for your false ceiling. 

Since false ceilings tend to come with LED lighting, you can look forward to an immediate brightening of your room. Not to get too scientific, but according to Psychology Today, indoor lighting can influence everything from your emotional state and creative juices to your ability to socialize, relax, or concentrate on an important task. While LED lights and strips will add light to your room, LED bulbs give off a cooler blue light, which can overpower and nullify the surface colors of furniture, art, and even people's faces. That's one reason why you may want to think twice before using LED light strips in your home. However, LED lighting is conducive to concentration, so a false ceiling with these bulbs is better suited to a home office, study, or anywhere you spend time in deep concentration.

False ceilings with warmer lighting, which mimics the natural light given off at sunsets, sundown, or a campfire, are best for rooms where the goal is relaxation, socializing, or just winding down from the day. If you're concerned about how to choose the perfect lighting for your space, dim-to-warm LEDs — like these from Tala — allow you to control the temperature of your lighting at any time of the day based on the mood you want to set in the room. 

A false ceiling offers an extra layer of insulation provided by the space between the primary ceiling and your false ceiling. This happens because the cooler air rests in a pocket between your false ceiling and the main ceiling above, which means you'll need to crank up the heat less in cooler seasons, and it is one of a few ways to avoid costly home heating mistakes this winter.

The added benefit of LED lighting in your false ceiling, aside from brightening your room, is that it saves you on electricity usage. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, LED Lighting with an ENERGY STAR rating relies on 75% less energy than incandescent lighting and works 25% longer. Over the next decade, the Department of Energy estimates that most lighting will be LED technology and that the energy conserved will equate to 92 1,000 MW power plants.

It's fair to say a false ceiling provides a few ways to help reduce your energy costs at home. So, if reducing your energy bills while brightening your home are goals, a false ceiling with LED technology can help you do both, all at once.