Over 170,000 new homes were built throughout the UK in 2019 and with so many new properties being built it is important to ensure that the correct and compliant products are being specified and installed. Approximately 70% of new build homes are constructed with the use of engineered wood joists, however historically fire tests have only been conducted with solid timber joists.
Engineered wood joists are constructed in a different way to solid timber joists, and due to the fact that less material is used they burn at a quicker rate during a house fire. For this reason it is important that the fire rated downlights used in such ceilings have been tested to ensure that the minimum 30 minute requirement is met.
The National House Building Council (NHBC), the UK’s leading warranty and insurance provider for UK house-building for new homes, last year stated that steps should be taken to ensure that fire rated downlights are compliant with i-Joists being used in new build homes.
To offer clarification of an approved installation, appropriate assessment or testing is required for a specified I-joist based floor construction and ceiling together with a specified recessed downlight. Following this announcement, Aurora has made the decision to invest in testing and assessments to ensure their popular fire rated downlights are compatible for use with the industry leading I-joists. Here are the latest test results.
Have you checked if the fire rated downlights you are specifying and installing have test reports to say they are safe for use in the specified I-joist ceiling? Now is the time to check.
Fire-Rated Compliance
It is essential to understand the complexity of testing that fire rated downlights are exposed to in order to comply with the regulations regarding minimum periods of resistance.
Having undertaken a single test for a single time duration does NOT mean that the product is suitable for all 30 / 60 / 90 minute duration applications. For the product to be fully compliant in all 30 / 60 / 90 minute installations, three separate tests of 30 minutes, 60 minutes and 90 minutes are to be carried out with luminaires installed into the appropriate ceiling/floor construction type for which the relevant test certification is to be provided.