![]() ![]() Sonora® wall and ceiling panels are used for absorbing sound within a space. ![]() These porous materials are great for reducing reverberation within a room, but will only marginally reduce the sound that leaves it (but more on that later). “Soft” materials, like heavy blankets, fabric and fiberglass, have loads of nooks and crannies, which sound tries to “fill”. The more surface area a certain material has the better absorber it will likely be. The absorbed sound energy has not vanished, it’s actually been converted into kinetic (vibration of a solid material) and thermal energy (heat due to friction within a porous material) or has simply passed right through the material (transmission). When sound waves meet a room surface such as a wall, ceiling or floor, some of the sound energy is reflected back into the room and the rest is considered to be “absorbed”. However, let’s delve in closer and decipher what is actually usable information, and what is just marketing. On the surface this sounds like an extremely efficient product. We recently encountered an acoustical ceiling tile which was said to “absorb 50% of sound”. It should not be assumed that something which sounds technical is, in fact, backed up by proper testing. Also, given sheer volume of information available on the internet, it is perhaps unavoidable that some info will be incomplete or simply incorrect. In both scenarios, it is important to know which data is relevant and helpful. These are two separate acoustic issues which require separate solutions. If the problem is sound passing in between spaces, like offices or apartments, then isolation treatment is required. In an overly reverberant auditorium, absorptive treatment is needed to reduce echoes and improve speech intelligibility. In order to make informed decisions about acoustical treatment, it is vital to know the difference between materials that are meant to absorb sound within a room and materials that are meant to block sound from leaving or entering it. Part 1: Acoustic Terminology – Sound Absorption vs Sound Isolation In this series, acoustician Cameron Girard of Acoustics First® hopes to help you distinguish between what’s useful and what’s not. This flood of information can seem intimidating, especially to beginners. A Sound Masking system adds a white ambient background noise into a space to prevent employees and neighbors from hearing unwanted noise from an adjacent space.For anyone new to the world of acoustics, there is a multitude of terms, coefficients and numbers that are thrown around. In these cases, Sound Masking should be strongly considered. ![]() If there is a significant portion of the ceiling (>10%) covered by lighting fixtures and diffusers, then there is likely to be too much flanking to allow a sufficient application for the ceiling. The drop-ceiling backer should be installed carefully to ensure that there are not gaps around each tile. Generally the soundproofing of the ceiling is limited by 2 factors the ability to seal the edges around each ceiling tile, and to prevent flanking through the air return system, whether a plenum or ducted return. Sound Masking SystemsĪ cost trade-off should performed when considering using Drop Ceiling Noise Blokker or other blocking products on top of an ACT grid, versus masking the noise with a Commercial Sound Masking System. Installation is simple, taking just a few hours for just over 300 tiles. Commercial Acoustics’ Drop Ceiling Noise Blokker is available in our Florida and North Carolina warehouses and shipped to the university campus during school break for installation. Our recommendation? A new polymer based tile that installs above existing ACT to prevent the flanking path. Acoustic Ceiling Tile Noise TreatmentĪ university in Florida came to Commercial Acoustics to address noise from their student government area spilling over into staff offices. However, this is strongly discouraged because batting is not STC rated and oftentimes maintenance staff struggles to keep it in place when accessing above the ACT. A common solution we see attempted is laying fiberglass batting on top of the ceiling tiles. (Note: ACT are not designed to block sound but rather absorb echo in a large reverberant space). This is often problematic when walls between offices don’t go to deck allowing sound to pass directly through the Acoustic Ceiling Tile and allowing clearly audible conversations between neighbors. One of the most common complaints we see in office and educational settings is flanking noise through open plenums between adjacent spaces. ![]()
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