[A REVISAR] Types of sustainable false ceilings

There is a wide variety of eco-friendly materials offering sustainable options for all kinds of interior spaces, from the floor to the ceiling and everything in between.

False ceilings offer a good number of eco-friendly options, from natural mineral fibres to metals, ensuring that sustainable choices are available for almost any installation.

False ceilings are, in general, a very sustainable category of ceiling because they are highly recyclable. There are closed-loop processes that return them to manufacturers, where new ceilings are made from the old ones.

This is similar to what happens in other industries, such as the carpet industry, where a large proportion of products are recovered and reused by manufacturers to make new products.

Which types of sustainable false ceilings are the most eco-friendly?

False ceilings can be made from any material, depending on their design, maintenance and acoustic requirements. The most eco-friendly options usually include:

Mineral fibre false ceilings:

These fibre panels are an excellent eco-friendly and sustainable choice because they are made from natural resources that do not harm the environment.

Metal false ceilings:

Metal requires a long and intensive process of extraction, processing and manufacturing, in which a great deal of energy is consumed to produce metal products.

However, the advantage of metal is that it can be recycled to create a system of recycled metal panels, giving it a new use and making the most of this material.

Although energy is used to recycle metal, it is not as much as would be needed to make a new product from raw materials.

Timber false ceilings:

Although timber is renewable, it is not always a sustainable option. Locally and sustainably harvested products offer an eco-friendly alternative to rarer, imported timbers. Bamboo is also a rapidly renewable resource, but it is often harvested and shipped over long distances.

Even if you opt for a non-sustainable or non-renewable product, there are ways to make it more eco-friendly.

For example, if someone asks for a teak false ceiling, we could turn to a company that recovers teak from barns or railway lines in South-East Asia and recycles it.

In this way, we avoid depleting the natural environment, because the material already existing in buildings, structures, objects or other sources is extracted and recycled.

You may have a beautiful timber ceiling that nobody would imagine came from a railway line in Vietnam.

At THU we work continuously to reduce our environmental footprint as far as possible. Our products are designed with 100% recyclable materials, such as steel and aluminium. In addition, our suppliers’ recycled content is 25% for steel and 90% for aluminium. In our production process we work to reduce the percentage of offcuts as far as possible and to avoid generating unnecessary waste.

In the manufacture of our products we use energy from 100% renewable sources. Our non-metallic products, such as wood wool ceilings, come from certified sustainable forests, demonstrating once again THU’s commitment to the environment.

If you would like to know more about how THU contributes to sustainability through our false ceilings, you can consult our sustainability report here.

 

This article is for information purposes only and is based on the information available at the date of publication. Owing to the constant evolution of technology, regulations and technical specifications, some of its content may become outdated or change over time. In the event of any discrepancy, the manufacturer’s or supplier’s current official technical documentation shall always prevail. For any enquiries, or if you need advice for a specific project, please do not hesitate to contact our team.