Sound Absorption
Maximising your Acoustic Environment with Sound Absorption
According to an article in the Sunday Times
some restaurants are so noisy it would be quieter to sit down and eat next to a lawnmower. A minimalist trend in interior such as hard floors and bare walls is a large cause for the amplified noise.
Action on Hearing Loss, a charity for the hard of hearing, measured noise levels in restaurant chains and found one restaurant with levels of noise, measuring a staggering 90db which is the equivalent of beeing sat next to a loud motorbike. With The World Health Organisation (WHO)
defining excessive noise as a serious health hazard perhaps it is time look at what Sound Absorption is available.
In this blog we are going to break down Sound Absorption (it isn't as complicated as some suggest) and highlight sound absorption solutions for walls and celings. Loud restaurants gain a lot of attention when it comes to noise problems, however - noise reverberation, amplification and noise echo can occur in any space; school halls, village and sports halls, studios, meeting rooms and cinemas to mention a few.
All of the options we detail below are designed so that they can be installed anywhere.
What is Sound Absorption?
Sound Absorption is quite straight forward in that it is designed to reduce the echo of a room and allows for clearer sound, making it easier to hear.
What is the difference between Sound Absorption and Soundproofing?
Sound absorption is the reducing of echo and noise reverberation within a room and in doing so helps to reduce the volume of noise, whilst increasing the clarity. Think of a noisy restaurant where noise energy is being amplified with sound continuously bouncing off the hard surfaces and therefore being magnified throughout the room. It can often be incredibly difficult to hear the person sat opposite, or even next to you.
Soundproofing is the stopping of sound energy in blocking noise from transferring through a structure and into another room. Soundproofing can block noise from entering a room, or block noise from leaving a room.
The difference between soundproofing and sound absorption
Echo and Sound Absorption
Echo is sound energy repeating around a room. Sound energy will bounce off smooth, hard surfaces much in the same way a rubber ball bounces off the ground. Although the direction of the sound changes, the echo sounds the same as the original sound. This creates an amplifying effect and makes everything seem very loud, often making conversation in these kind of spaces hard to understand. The louder the source the more energy that sound wave has and therefore the more voices in a space, the louder the noise in that space gets.
The below video shows a simple before and after test highlighted by clapping hands in a room without any acoustic treatment and again in the same room following the installation of ProSound™ Acoustic Wall Panels.
Before acoustic treatment and after acoustic treatment
How do Sound Absorption Panels work?
The soft material used in sound panels is designed to absorb sound energy and stop this energy from bouncing around the room and reflecting off the surfaces. Class A panels like the ones available from The Soundproofing Store, are tested to absorb 90-100% of sound energy that hits them. This means you require less panels in an area to achieve good results, compared to lower performing panels. You may have seen panels that look like the image above and these require nearly the whole surface covering to get good results. Plus, aesthetically, they don’t look particularly appealing.
Where would you need to use Room Acoustic sound Absorption?
Social
spaces such as; restaurants, bars, schools, offices, and large halls would require some degree of
sound absorption. Whenever you have a large space with hard surfaces coupled with noise, such as lots of
voices. The noise will resonate / echo around the room, amplifying the noise resulting in the noise taking longer to dissipate.
When wouldn't Room Acoustic Treatment be required?
If an airborne or impact noise travels through a ceiling,
wall or floor causing a problem to the neighbour then you would want to block (or Soundproof) the surface against the noise with some effective soundproofing or sound insulation materials.
Wall Soundproofing Learn More
Floor Soundproofing Learn More
What is best practice for improving Room Acoustics with sound absorption?
- Aim to fill a third of the space with good quality class 'A' sound absorption, such as the ProSound™ Wall Panels, Ceiling Rafts, or Hanging Baffles. It is better to fill a thirdof a space with a quality class 'A' panel than fill a whole space with inferior SoundAbsorption products.
- Choosethe right acoustic product for the right room type. With an array ofacoustic products out there all with individual merits, it is important to use productsfit for purpose. For example, if you are trying to dampen noise in a restaurantand the ceiling is high you may want to use something like the
ProSound™ Hanging Baffles . Or if you are implementing wall panels on a sports hall then you maywant to consider thicker sound absorption panels able to resist high impact.
- Understand your room space and consider how muchnoise reverberation you require. For example, in a restaurant you don’t want thenoise to drop too flat as you want atmosphere, but equally you want yourcustomers to be able to hear their friends.
- Use different types of sound absorption ensuringsound is being absorbed from different parts of the room. Use a mixture of ProSound™ Wall Panels and ProSound™ Ceiling hanging baffles to reduce more echo and sound reverberation.
How many Sound Absorption Panels are needed?
As a general rule of thumb we look to cover around 30% of the surface area of the room, whilst also placing the absorption panels as close to the source as possible, without interfering with the look of the room.
What Acoustic Panel options are available for sound absorption?
Sound Absorption: ProSound™ Ceiling Rafts
ProSound™ Ceiling Rafts are a high quality sound absorption panel, used to control reverberant noise and echo in rooms and areas with hard surfaces. With high impact resistance, they are also suitable for use in sports areas.
The stunning visual effect of acoustic ceiling rafts are also designed to look great, giving you the ability to use panels as part of your internal design and decor.
ProSound™ Ceiling Rafts are available in a range of over 90 colours to suit all designs and are easy to install, without the need of specialist tools.
ProSound™ Ceiling Rafts are designed to absorb sound energy from the front and the back making them ideal for high reverberation areas. This isnt the case with ceiling panels that are attached directly to the ceiling, as they aren't able to absorb sound energy on the back side of the panel. Therefore meaning you would need more panels to absorb the same amount of energy than with the ProSound™ Ceiling Rafts.
Sound Absorption: ProSound™ Hanging Ceiling Baffles
ProSound™Hanging Baffles
are used to reduce reverberant noise and echo in areas with hard surfaces. Used in buildings such as studios, lecture theatres, music rooms, offices, boardrooms, sports and community halls, cinemas and interview rooms. They can also be used to meet BB93 regulations for reducing reverberation in school classrooms. ProSound™ baffles transform stark, echoing areas into warmer, quieter and congenial places to work.
ProSound™ Hanging Baffles are designed to reduce reverberation and reflected sound within rooms, without taking up valuable wall space and obstructing ceiling furniture such as lighting and air-conditioning.
As with the ceiling rafts, the hanging baffles are also available in a variety of colours and sizes. The baffles are easy to install, as they don't require any specialist tools. No additional trims are required, as the ProSound™ baffle fabric is fully wrapped on all 4 edges.
ProSound™ ceiling baffles are designed to absorb sound energy from the front and the back, making them ideal for high reverberation areas where space is limited.
Sound Absorption: ProSound™ Acoustic Wall Panels
ProSound™ Acoustic Wall Panels are high specification acoustic panel systems. These are the most popular aesthetic sound absorbing panels. They are durable, fire rated, visually pleasing and offer excellent acoustic performance. They are the decorative solution to your sound control needs. The panels are used extensively to transform areas such as multi-purpose halls, open-plan offices, conference suites, studios and interview rooms into softer, quieter and workable environments.
Panels are finished in high quality acoustic fabrics and are available in a wide range of colours. Are easy to install, without the need of specialist tools and can be installed without any additional edging trims, as the fabric is fully wrapped on all 4 edges.
Specification
- Panel thickness: 25mm or 40mm
- Available in multiple colour options
- For other shapes please contact us
- Wall surfaces must be flat and level
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Sound Absorption Summary
To conclude, areas of space with hard surfaces allow noise to reverberate, amplify and echo. Consider your space and the purpose of the space and use 'Class A' Sound Absorption solutions to reduce this problem. Remember when considering your space, reduce the noise problem to the right level rather than killing it completely. After all, we all like some ambient background sound in certain locations such as restaurants and bars.
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