Acoustic Panels

Every space is different, so be sure to consider your end goals before you purchase an acoustic product. If you’re looking to stop noise from moving from one space to the next, soundproofing products are ideal. Or if you need acoustic products to prevent sound from entering or exiting a room, sound-absorbing products offer long-lasting value.

Determine exactly what or where you need to soundproof. This will allow you to assess a space or room and plan accordingly. Or, if you are trying to minimize equipment noise, determine which types of equipment you need to soundproof.

Acoustic panel installation can be fast and simple, particularly for those who work with an acoustic specialist. This professional will offer acoustic panel recommendations based on the application and outline each step of the installation process to ensure you can make an informed decision.

Place acoustic panels on the hard surfaces that a sound waves reach first. This location, known as a reflection point, will vary depending on the noise source and the room’s size.

For example, when treating a rectangular room with a sound system along one of the short walls, install the panels on the long walls. Sound leaves the speaker in a cone shape, causing it to reach the perpendicular surfaces before the distant parallel wall. Position panels beside each other to cover the entire area that the sound wave hits.

The height will also vary. Keep the center of the panel level with the noise source. Allow at least 1 foot between the panel and the ground or ceiling.

You should install acoustic panels evenly throughout a room.

An acoustic panel will not affect your Wi-Fi signal. Acoustic panels and Wi-Fi signals have little interaction for two reasons — the type of wave and the panel’s thickness.

Acoustic panels address sound waves — vibrations that run through air particles. A Wi-Fi signal is an electromagnetic wave. Sound interacts with any object that has mass, so it moves through the air and collides with physical objects, including soundproofing materials. An electromagnetic wave can travel without a medium.

Only the densest surfaces can stop electromagnetic waves. Acoustic panels offer enough density to absorb sound waves but not so much that they will interfere with your internet connection.

Thicker acoustic panels are generally better than thin ones. An acoustic panel must have enough mass and density to absorb noise.

The optimal thickness depends on the frequency. Thicker acoustic panels are more effective for low frequencies, while thinner panels will absorb high frequencies.

To find the ideal panel, check its noise reduction coefficient (NRC). The NRC rating is the quotient of the decibels a panel absorbs and the decibels it reflects. We list each panel’s NRC rating at various frequency ranges, plus an average NRC rating for all audible frequencies.

Some acoustic tiles are better at absorbing echoes within a room, some excel at stopping or blocking sound and others (called composite acoustic panels) do both.

Sound absorbing panels tend to be lighter products that may feel cushion-like to the touch. Capable of “softening” room surfaces, these panels suppress echoes in larger areas such as auditoriums, banquet halls and gymnasiums, so that everyone can understand speakers and enjoy musical events without straining to listen.

Understanding why rooms permit the echoing of sounds is comparable to a gym with walls 24 inches thick. Clapping your hands anywhere in this gym creates a distinct echo that takes a few seconds before dissipating. Imagine you’ve got access to 100 small rubber balls with super-bouncing properties. If you start throwing all these bouncy balls in all directions, they’ll bounce like crazy everywhere in the gym. Eventually, they’ll stop bouncing because they’ve used up their kinetic energy.

Now consider lining the gym’s walls and ceiling with sound absorbing panels and throwing those 100 bouncy balls the same way you threw them before installing acoustic panels. When the bouncy balls hit the walls and ceilings this time, they don’t bounce. And that’s because each ball’s energy (which you gave to the ball) is absorbed by the foam in the acoustic panels. Essentially, sound waves are super bouncy balls that bounce of hard surfaces but are absorbed by soft, absorbent surfaces.

Denser, heavier noise reduction panels provide sound blocking properties by decoupling walls so that one side of a wall does not present a hard, nonporous surface. Building more mass into any wall increases its ability to block sound.

Before deciding what kind of noise reduction panels you want, ask yourself these questions:

• Do I want to absorb echoes or block/reduce noise interference?
• What kind of surfaces and dimensions does the area present?
• What kind of sounds do I want to absorb/block/clarify?
• Is the area used more for speaking engagements, music shows or recording purposes? Is it a commercial-type area involving groups of people meeting, dining, etc?

Many materials are used to make acoustic panels, including fabric, foam and perforated wood.

1. Fabric

Typically, the best sound absorption panels are fabric-wrapped fiberglass acoustic panels. These panels offer outstanding noise control for a wide range of applications and are sold in many sizes, colors and types to address your budgetary and design requirements.

Acoustic panels can be wrapped in thousands of different types of fabric. Meanwhile, the panels often consist of recycled fabric and are manufactured according to the highest standards on the market.Many fabric-wrapped acoustic panels feature a Class A™ flammability rating and pass stringent building code requirements for exposed materials. To find out more about fabric-wrapped acoustic panels, be sure to consult with an acoustic specialist.

2. Foam

Acoustic foam prevents soundwaves from reflecting off ceilings, walls and other hard surfaces. The foam absorbs soundwaves to deliver a smooth, quiet and calm environment. Acoustic foam also enables you to reduce noises from outside sources and prevent them from seeping into a building.

Noise-dampening foam is not soundproof, but it allows you to enjoy many activities in residential and commercial spaces that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. It is fast and easy to install, and represents a budget-friendly option for many property owners.

3. Perforated Wood

Perforated wood acoustic panels remain a top choice for those who prioritize sustainability. The panels are constructed by master woodworkers using only sustainable, USA materials and have a Class A™ flammability rating.

Wood acoustic panels are available in many sizes, veneers, finishes and patterns, and enhance the style and ambience of any area with style, elegance and sophistication. They can be customized with your project pattern and ceiling- or wall-mounted or suspending from ceilings as a baffle or cloud.

An acoustic panel installation provides a number of benefits, such as:

1. More Welcoming Environment for Customers

For restaurant owners, you want customers to feel great the moment they enter your venue. But if there is excess noise inside your restaurant, customers may feel distracted. As a result, customers may be dissatisfied with the overall dining experience.

Believe it or not, soundproofing may dictate a restaurant’s immediate and long-term success. For example, a restaurant owner who goes above and beyond the call of duty to minimize noise can create a pleasant experience for diners. With soundproofing materials in place, the restaurant wait staff should have no trouble hearing customer requests and responding to them immediately.

At the same time, customers will be able to chat with one another, enjoy the restaurant’s ambiance and spend an extended period of time at the venue. This may lead customers to purchase additional drinks and desserts as well as boost a restaurant’s reputation and revenues.

It also is important to note noise may impact how diners view their food. BioMedCentral reported a recent study ranked noise as the second most common complaint among diners. The study showed excess noise may impact diners in several ways:

• Affects the way a diner perceives a meal’s aroma
• Lessens the ability to discern sweet foods
• Decreases the enjoyment of the food’s taste

The study indicated many food critics now review a restaurant’s food quality and noise levels. This shows that excess noise can cause serious damage to a restaurant and over time, may prevent restaurant owners from maximizing their revenues.

Allocating the necessary time and resources to soundproof a restaurant could prove to be mutually beneficial for restaurant owners and customers. Thanks to soundproof panels, restaurant owners can spend less time worrying about excess noise and more time focusing on what’s important — providing customers with an unforgettable dining experience.

2. Boosted Productivity in an Office

An office is a shared workspace. This space should foster collaboration, but in some cases, excess noise may prevent office workers from completing day-to-day tasks.

For instance, excess noise may make it tough for an employee to stay focused during customer calls. Or, if a conference room is not private enough, information about confidential business deals and other business matters could leak to employees throughout an office.

Office soundproofing enables you to provide a better work environment for employees. It ensures you can decrease noise distractions, leading to increased employee productivity and efficiency. Office soundproofing also allows you to keep conference rooms and other areas private to further safeguard your confidential business information.

Soundproofing delivers immense value in office spaces, and meeting with an acoustic specialist ensures you can get the support you need to soundproof an office.

3. Better Acoustical Quality in Music Venues

Getting the best acoustics possible is vital in music rooms. Thankfully, music room soundproofing enables you to move one step closer to transforming your dream of becoming a famous musician into reality.

Music room soundproofing allows you to soundproof your space. Therefore, you’ll be able to practice playing music without disturbing others, as well as produce the highest-quality sound possible.

For those who want to reduce distractions and ensure they can let their creative juices run wild, music room soundproofing is exceedingly valuable. With music room soundproofing, you can get the privacy you need to build your music skill set.

4. Improved Workplace Safety

As a business owner, you may store engines, generators and other loud machinery in an equipment room. Unfortunately, equipment room noise can be troublesome, particularly for workers who need to communicate with one another to ensure day-to-day tasks are completed safely and efficiently.

Equipment room soundproofing may prove to be a safe, effective and cost-saving option for your business. It allows you to minimize noise and create a secure work environment. This means you can eliminate distractions and make it easy for employees to collaborate with each other, leading to improved employee communication.

Also, with equipment room soundproofing, your business may be able to limit the risk of accidents caused by poor communications. Equipment room soundproofing enables workers to maintain consistent communications with one another, which can help your business create a safe work environment and lower costs associated with workplace accidents.

5. Increased Workshop Freedom

A workshop may serve as a place where you can complete personal projects any time you choose. Workshop soundproofing enables you to enhance the quality of your workshop by reducing noise distractions and complaints.

Workshop soundproofing materials provide you with the freedom to complete tasks in your workshop at your convenience. The materials allow you to minimize noise distractions so you can boost your productivity. They also enable you to prevent noise from escaping your workshop, eliminating the risk of noise complaints from neighbors.

If you ever have questions about whether workshop soundproofing is right for you, acoustic specialists can help. These specialists boast comprehensive acoustic panel expertise and are happy to share their soundproofing panel knowledge and insights with you.