A loft ceiling is a hard place to insulate. Loft ceilings follow the *lines, contours* of the roof and often have difficult slopes to deal with when installing the insulation. Often loft ceilings have recessed light fixtures, which will also cause a problem with the insulation of your house. Where the ceiling has been cut for the lights, air flows out and in freely from your house and outside.
Seal around the Lights
Sealing around recessed lights is the best way to help improve the energy efficiency of your home if you have a loft ceiling space. It might not be possible to put additional insulation into the ceiling itself, but sealing the area around the lights will help keep a significant amount of air from your house in, and air from outside out. Going through and fitting the inside of the recessed lights’ “cans” will significantly help the efficiency of your home.
Loft ceiling options
When building a home with lofted ceilings, it is important to consider using lights that can be installed on the surface of the ceiling instead of “canned” lights. This will make a difference on how much air will be escaping or coming into your home and dramatically affect your energy bill.
Another thing to consider is using rigid foam insulation instead of fiberglass batts. The foam boards will have a higher R-value and will guarantee a more thorough covering of the ceiling because of the way it is installed.