Insulation Around Recessed Lighting Fixtures

Recessed light fixtures are commonly designated as ic insulation contact or no ic no insulation contact to indicate if they can safely be installed with insulation directly touching the canister.

Insulation around recessed lighting fixtures.

Box enclosures to keep attic insulation slightly away from the fixture and recessed lights. Unlike site fabricated light covers that require excessive time labor and cost to build smartcap attic recessed light cover is an easy solution to a complex. How to air seal non ic recessed fixtures. See figures 2 and 3.

Instead of hanging down from the ceiling like conventional fixtures can lights extend up into the attic so that the only part you see is the front edge of the. The recessed lights in my house are accessible from the attic but there s no insulation around them because it says on the fixtures that they need to vent the heat generated by incandescent bulbs. If you have recessed lighting in your ceiling it can get in the way when you want to insulate the attic because the canisters might get hot. If i replace those bulbs with leds will that reduce the heat enough so i can insulate around the existing lighting cans.

Because this will require accessing the attic please first see the assessment guide site assessment of ceilings attics and roofs for health and safety information related to accessing the attic. How to install insulation next to ic light fixtures. Insulating around recessed lighting. The tenmat firebox for recessed lighting and downlights acts as a fire barrier but also serves as a thermal insulator significantly reducing air flow and heat loss through the recessed light fixture.

This video from green homes america provides a good overview of the air leakage issue with recessed lights and shows an actual top hat installation. Ideally your fixtures should have both features. How to insulate around can lights. Safest insulation around recessed lighting rock wool also called mineral slag or mineral wool is the safest least flammable insulation option around recessed cans.

A number of manufactured products are available to provide clearance for insulation around the fixture but you can also build a box using scraps of rigid insulation or drywall. It is fire rated for up to 1800 f so there is no way an electrical issue or a heated lighting fixture can cause it to catch fire.