Starlight Ceiling Panels — Buy the Panels or Have Us Install Them

Custom-made acoustic star ceiling panels with the fiber optics and LED light engine already built in. $55 per sq ft delivered, or $77 per sq ft fully installed nationwide.

Quick Answer: Starlight ceiling panels cost $55 per square foot delivered, or $77 per square foot fully installed. The panels are identical either way — the $22 difference is purely the installation labour. A 12′ × 12′ centre field of 36 panels is $7,920 panels only or $11,088 installed.

Our panels are custom-manufactured acoustic ceiling tiles with the fiber optics and LED light engine already built in. They drop straight into a suspended grid next to your existing tiles. No attic access, no drilling, no ceiling repair. Power runs on Cat5 cable that daisy-chains panel to panel.

That construction is why you genuinely have a choice about who installs them — and why most customers save real money by doing it themselves.

Option 1

Panels only — you install

$55/sq ft

Panels delivered ready to drop in. A 144 sq ft field is a weekend job for two people.

Option 2

Fully installed — we install

$77/sq ft

Same panels, fitted and commissioned by our 2-person crew in a single day. Installation is $22/sq ft.

Acoustic starlight ceiling panels installed in a suspended grid with glowing fiber optic stars

Panel Pricing by Room Size

Figures below are for a 15′ × 15′ room, which is the most common size we quote. Your own dimensions will shift these, but the pattern holds.

Coverage Area Panels Panels Only Fully Installed
Full ceiling, wall to wall — 15′ × 15′ 225 sq ft 49 + border $12,375 $17,325
Centre field — 12′ × 12′ ★ recommended 144 sq ft 36 $7,920 $11,088
Compact centre field — 10′ × 10′ 100 sq ft 25 $5,500 $7,700

Why we usually recommend a centre field: a 12′ × 12′ layout lands on exactly 36 standard panels with no cut or custom-size pieces, and leaves an 18″ border on all four sides. That border is where your screen wall, speakers, recessed lights and HVAC vents end up — keeping the starfield clear of it avoids fixtures punching holes in the sky. A 15′ room does not divide evenly by 2′, so full wall-to-wall coverage needs custom border panels and costs considerably more.

For a wider breakdown of what drives price across different rooms, see our complete starlight ceiling cost guide.

What Each Price Includes

In both prices — the panels

  • Custom-manufactured acoustic star panels
  • Star density 7–11 stars per sq ft
  • LED light engine built in — no separate wiring
  • Plug-and-play Cat5 daisy-chain power
  • Acoustic treatment built in (NRC 1.0+ options)
  • Fully custom size, shape and colour
  • Custom constellation mapping available
  • 2-year materials warranty

Added in Option 2 — installation

  • Certified 2-person installation crew
  • All tools and equipment provided
  • Clean install — no mess left behind
  • Same-day testing and commissioning
  • Lifetime workmanship warranty
  • Ongoing technical support after install

Not included in either price

  • Freight — panels ship crated, quoted at order
  • The suspended grid itself and your field tile
  • An electrical outlet at the ceiling for the light engine
  • Any grid modification or supplemental hanger wire
  • Applicable sales tax

Add-ons priced separately: shooting stars, constellation layouts, moon effects and colour-changing (RGB) are built in at manufacture and quoted on top of the panel price. They are not included in the per-square-foot figures above.

Starlight Ceiling Panel Installation

We install starlight ceiling panels nationwide across all 50 states. Installation runs $22 per square foot on top of the panel cost, confirmed at site assessment. Most residential rooms are a single day for our two-person crew.

Certified crew installing fiber optic star ceiling panels into a suspended ceiling grid

How the panels mount

  • Suspended grid drop-in — direct replacement for standard ceiling tiles. The most common method and the fastest.
  • Surface mount — fixed directly to an existing ceiling with our mounting hardware where there is no grid.
  • Recessed — flush integration for new construction and remodels.

What we need to quote your room

  • Ceiling construction — suspended grid or drywall. If a grid, the module (2×2 or 2×4) and whether the tee is 15/16″ or 9/16″, square lay-in or tegular. We match the panel edge to your grid.
  • Finished ceiling height — sets the star brightness we specify and confirms the installation rate.
  • A rough ceiling sketch — screen wall, speakers, recessed lights, HVAC supply and return. We design the starfield around them.
  • Colour and effects — standard white stars, or warm and cool mixed, plus any shooting stars or constellations.

Installing it yourself? The panel system was built for it — low-voltage power, no drilling into your ceiling, no attic work. If you want the components without the crew, our DIY starlight ceiling kits are the same professional-grade panels. Prefer it handled end to end? See professional installation.

Where Star Ceiling Panels Work Best

🎬 Home Theatres

The strongest use case. Acoustic panels absorb ceiling reflections that hurt audio while the starfield sets the room. Black field tile makes the best background.

🛏️ Bedrooms & Nurseries

Soft, dimmable starlight with no glare. See residential starlight ceilings for room-by-room examples.

🍽️ Restaurants & Hospitality

Fire-rated panel options that meet commercial building codes. Details on our commercial lighting services page.

⚓ Marine & Yachts

Corrosion-resistant builds that handle humidity, salt air and vessel movement. See marine starlight ceilings.

🏢 Offices & Reception

Acoustic performance and a distinctive ceiling in one product. Individual panels lift out for maintenance access.

🎨 Custom Designs

Constellation mapping, branded layouts and non-standard shapes. See custom starlight ceiling design.

Home theatre with a 12 by 12 foot centre field of starlight ceiling panels above tiered seating

Panel Specifications

Standard sizes2′ × 2′ and 2′ × 4′ to match your grid module. Custom sizes and shapes available.
Grid compatibility15/16″ or 9/16″ tee, square lay-in or tegular edge
Star density7–11 stars per sq ft standard (roughly 28–44 stars on a 2′ × 2′ panel). Higher densities available.
PowerLow-voltage, Cat5 daisy-chain panel to panel. One outlet at the ceiling.
FiberProfessional-grade PMMA, 20+ year clarity, does not burn out
Light engineBuilt into the panel. 50,000+ hour LED rating.
AcousticNRC 1.0+ options with sound-absorbing core
EffectsTwinkle, dimming, RGB colour change, shooting stars, constellation mapping
Warranty2 years materials · lifetime workmanship on our installations

Panels are custom-manufactured to your layout, so allow build time once the design is approved. For technology background, see how fiber optic star ceilings work.

Frequently Asked Questions About Starlight Ceiling Panels

Panels are $55 per square foot delivered. Fully installed by our crew is $77 per square foot, which is the same panels plus $22 per square foot for installation. A 12 foot by 12 foot centre field of 36 panels is $7,920 panels only or $11,088 installed.
Yes. Panels drop straight into a suspended grid or surface mount to an existing ceiling. There is no attic access, no drilling and no ceiling repair. Power runs on Cat5 cable that daisy chains panel to panel. A 144 square foot field is a weekend job for two people, versus one day for our crew.
We install nationwide across all 50 states. Installation is $22 per square foot on top of the panel cost, confirmed at site assessment. Call (702) 738-2218 with your city and room dimensions and we will confirm coverage and timing.
Panels are manufactured to match your grid module, most commonly 2 foot by 2 foot or 2 foot by 4 foot. We match the panel edge to your tee, whether that is 15/16 inch or 9/16 inch, square lay-in or tegular. Fully custom sizes and shapes are available.
Standard star density is 7 to 11 stars per square foot, which works out to roughly 28 to 44 stars on a 2 foot by 2 foot panel. Higher densities are available for a denser Milky Way effect.
Yes. Our panels are built as acoustic ceiling tiles with the fibre optics integrated, so they absorb sound as well as light up. Acoustic options reach NRC ratings above 1.0, which matters in home theatres, restaurants and offices where ceiling reflections hurt audio.
Professional grade PMMA fibre optics maintain clarity for 20 or more years and do not burn out like traditional lights. LED light engines are rated for 50,000 hours. Panels carry a 2 year materials warranty, and installations carried out by our crews carry a lifetime workmanship warranty.
Freight is quoted separately at order since panels ship crated. Also not included are the suspended grid itself and your field tile, an electrical outlet at the ceiling for the light engine, any grid modification or supplemental hanger wire, and applicable sales tax.

Get Your Panel Price

Send us your room dimensions and we'll come back with a fixed quote for panels only and fully installed, so you can compare both.

Prefer to talk it through? Call (702) 738-2218