Ever wonder how acoustic sound panels work or where to place them for the most acoustic absorption in commercial spaces? Or have you asked if acoustic sound panels even work at all? Each commercial space has its own soundproofing needs because of hard walls, reflective surfaces, and high open ceilings, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Fortunately, there are multiple options when it comes to acoustic treatments that can reduce those unwanted sound reflections and echoes.
As you are figuring out what type of acoustic sound deadening panels you need for your specific space, we want to answer all of your questions about commercial acoustic treatment and soundproof acoustic panels.
What are acoustic panels and what do they do?
The majority of acoustic panels are fireproof insulation boards covered in fabric. Acoustic sound panels control the way that sound is absorbed, reflected, and diffused. You'll find them made from materials like foam, fiberglass (glass wool), mineral stone wool, or perforated wood with fabric-lined over them. The whole point of acoustic treatment panels is to reduce the reverb and echo in large volume spaces and buildings with hard walls, reflective surfaces, and high open ceilings. At some point, you’ve probably walked into a gym and started talking only to realize that the sound is bouncing around all over the place and you can't hear the person next to you. Acoustic sound treatment is going to help with the intelligibility of the conversations that you're having to make sure that you're able to be heard, your announcers can be heard, and the person next to you can have a conversation with you.
How do acoustic panels work?
Acoustic dampening panels are a surface that absorbs sound as it bounces around a room. Each material that makes up the panel absorbs a different amount of sound, and the combination of acoustic panel materials works together to trap sound.
Do acoustic panels work?
Yes, they absolutely do work. The more acoustic diffuser panels you have, the more effective the sound absorption. Typically you will need to cover 15 to 25% of the surface area with panels before you get a decent reduction in echo.
What is the difference between soundproofing and acoustic treatments?
Soundproofing actually is an acoustic treatment, but soundproofing requires that you're able to prevent all sound or nearly all of the sound from leaving the space. There are only a handful of truly soundproofed rooms in the world, and soundproofing to this extent is more advanced and expensive than most people will ever need.
What are the different types of acoustic treatments?
There are several different kinds of acoustic sound treatments. You've got acoustic dampening wall panels which are just what they sound like. You mount them to the wall. There are ceiling acoustic treatment clouds. Acoustic cloud panels will hang from the ceiling, usually down a few inches from the ceiling. This provides space so that the acoustic treatment can both catch the immediate sound reflection, and as some of that sound passes through and bounces off of the ceiling, it will get captured on that top end of the panel as well. So you end up getting almost twice the absorption rate than you would with just a flat wall-mounted panel.
Some other types that you'll see are stratus clouds. These are also acoustic ceiling panels, but they tend to be mounted in a square or rectangular shape, usually to target certain reflections for an engineering or production suite. Then the next kind that you'll see are baffles. These are usually hanging from their side straight down. Baffles are good at capturing, just passing sounds, crowd noise. You see this a lot in gyms.
Primacoustic Broadway acoustic panels are an example of good quality acoustic wall treatment. These are going to be usually one to three inches thick. You'll see them mounted on walls inside of churches, retail spaces, gymnasiums. They mount very simply to the walls. Primacoustic also has what's called an impaler for easy installation, which is basically a plate that you mount to the wall. It has two spikes on it, those spikes will go straight in through the back, and you just punch it onto the wall. It usually takes about five minutes per panel.
Do I need special panels for high-impact spaces?
Yes, if you've got a place where a lot of high impact comes in you will want to use something like the Primacoustic Hercules acoustic treatment panels. These are more impact-resistant. So if you've got a loose ball or an elbow inside of a gym, or you're putting them up inside of a classroom with kids, these panels will be able to take a little bit more of a beating. They're not impact-proof, but they’ll last longer despite getting knocked around a bit.
How many acoustic panels do I need?
The size of your room and the materials used to build your space - wood, metal, concrete, foam, etc. will impact the number of acoustic absorption panels that you need. You will also want to consider the acceptable reverb time for your building or space. If you are treating a church or gymnasium, the quantity will be different than what it would be for a restaurant or office building.
Where to place my acoustic panels?
The biggest thing to remember with acoustic panel placement is to try to keep them evenly spaced and balanced. Don't get them too close to the ceiling or too close to the floor. Think about where the sound is coming from. If there's a lot of vocal action happening where people are speaking, you want to try to keep them centered to where people's faces are going to be, because that's where most of the energy is going to be captured. Also, keep in mind not to bunch them up too close, because then you're going to leave big exposed areas on the reflective surfaces and it won't be quite as effective.
What type of commercial spaces can benefit from acoustic panels?
Acoustic sound-absorbing panels can optimize sound quality in almost any space. Here is a list of some common places:
- Offices and open office spaces
- Conference rooms, boardrooms, meeting rooms and huddle spaces
- Churches
- Retail Stores
- Restaurants
- Bars
- Hotels
- Theaters
- Event center and entertainment venues
- Call centers
- Schools, cafeterias, auditoriums, classrooms, lecture halls, band rooms, music rooms, and gymnasiums
- Medical buildings
- Government facilities
- Factories and manufacturing facilities
- Libraries
- Dance studios
- Exercise facilities
- Firing ranges
- Warehouses
Why would I want to use an acoustic treatment in a commercial space?
Acoustic treatments have a wide range of benefits for commercial spaces from simply creating a more pleasant environment for your customers and guests to cutting down excess noise to increase productivity for your employees.
Can I paint my acoustic panels?
There are acoustic diffuser panels that come in paintable white. You can paint these to be any color you want. Just be aware that you have to pay attention to how you paint them because the paint will affect the absorption coefficient on the panel. If you put too thick of a paint layer, you end up with a more reflective surface that’s less absorbent.
If you have more questions about acoustic panels or would like to get started making your business a more pleasant place with a Primacoustic acoustic treatment package, give us a call at (888)-256-4112, or email us at [email protected]. Our commercial acoustic sound treatment experts are here to help!
