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Suspended Ceilings Have Economic, Green Advantages
A new study examining interior ceilings in light commercial construction finds that suspended ceilings can provide builders and property owners more “green” and long-term cost advantages than open plenum ceilings.
Research by the Ceilings and Interior Systems Construction Association (CISA) found that suspended ceilings can reduce energy consumption and life-cycle payback schedules — decreasing a building’s lifetime operating costs ― and offer solid sustainable design potential on projects.
“This is an important step forward for the interior ceiling construction industry,” said Bonny Luck, CISCA executive director. “According to the data, wall-to-wall ceiling systems save energy, lower maintenance costs and represent a ‘green’ construction advantage.”
However, Joann Davis Brayman, vice president of marketing at Armstrong Commercial Ceilings, said that building owners, architects and designers have been gravitating toward the use of exposed structure ceilings primarily for aesthetics, sustainability, easy acces and lower construction costs.
“Based on research that Armstrong conducted, aesthetics is the main driver for choosing plenum ceilings,” said Brayman. “The people we spoke to told us they liked the appearance of different elevations and the more contemporary look. In some spaces, eliminating the ceiling contributes to a feeling of volume in a tight space and for big box retailers, the warehouse look sends the message that they have low prices.”
The CISCA study — “Life Cycle Analysis: Wall-to-Wall Ceilings and the Open Plenum” — compared cost and performance considerations for continuous ceilings and open plenum environments. The study examined two building types — a low-rise/mid-rise office building and a single-story retail food store — in Chicago; Charlotte, N.C.; Oklahoma City; Orlando; and Phoenix, markets that reflect differences in energy costs, construction/installation costs and climate zones.
According to the study, suspended ceilings generate a rapid payback because they significantly lower building operating costs by reducing energy consumption and ongoing maintenance costs. Based on 2006-2007 energy rates, suspended ceilings can lower energy costs by 9% to 17%. Maintenance costs are estimated to be at least 10% less than open plenum designs.
“The higher initial construction costs of a suspended ceiling are offset by the increased energy savings compared to an open plenum design, often generating a remarkably fast payback,” said Barry Donaldson, who conducted the CISCA study. Donaldson is a principal at Barry Donaldson and Associates, based in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.
The study’s prototype buildings were evaluated using data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Building Owners and Managers Association.
Construction characteristics — such as equipment loads, lighting systems and envelope thermal performance — were based on the minimum code criteria described in ASHRAE Standard 90.1. Construction and operating cost data by city and by building type was based on RSMeans construction data found in “Construction Cost Data 2007.”
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