R'BULL Pro insulation and a black lacquered ceiling

What a black lacquered ceiling demands

A lacquered fabric reflects the whole room like a mirror. It forgives no flatness defect, no visible profile mark and no irregularity of tension. It is the most demanding finish to fit, and the only one where the quality of the framework shows from floor level.

The received idea about colour

A black ceiling is supposed to heat less well than a white one: that is false in the infrared. For a non-metallic material, emissivity is high whatever the visible colour. Black changes what the eye perceives, not what the skin receives.

What colour really changes

Light. A dark ceiling absorbs the lighting instead of returning it, which means revising the number and position of the light fittings. That is a lighting designer's trade-off, not a thermal one, and it arises before the downlight layout.

Why a relaxation room lends itself to it

A dark ceiling erases the volume and removes the sense of a low ceiling, which is sought after in a room where people lie down. Radiant heating adds warmth with no air movement, which suits a room where people stay still.

The insulation, invisible but decisive

Above the fabric, R'BULL Pro closes the plenum and sends the radiation back down. Without it the installation would heat the original substrate for the same consumption, and the visual result would be identical for less comfort.

The effect of colour on light is developed on the albedo page, and the system on the heated radiant stretch ceiling page.