Sound is a wave. Materials absorb, reflect, or transmit it. Here is how to use that to make a room quieter without redesigning it.
An engineer-turned-marketer explains the physics, the ratings, and where to actually place panels in a room.
Despite having an engineering degree, I somehow found myself in the marketing world. So while I will attempt to explain this field of science in a clear, marketing-friendly way, you may need to stick with me while my inner, data-loving self comes out. Let's dive in.
Probably, but we are getting ahead of ourselves a bit.
At its core, acoustics is the study of sound. How sound is created, how sound travels, and how sound eventually dies.
Physically, sound can be thought of as little, invisible vibrating waves that travel all around us. And while these vibrating waves are everywhere in our world, it is only when they come in contact with our eardrums that our brains are able to convert these vibrations into something that makes sense. And to answer the age-old question, yes, even if no one is around to hear it, that tree still makes a sound when it falls.
Despite being invisible, we can measure these sound waves and learn about them based on a few physical properties.
A better understanding of acoustics may help your Tuesday night bar trivia score, but it will not make your office any quieter. Fortunately, modern technology lets us layer real-world applications on top of the science.
So let's get practical.
When sound waves interact with a material, one of three things happens to the wave:
Knowing these differences, we can grade materials based on their acoustic properties.
A Noise Reduction Coefficient, or NRC, is a rating of how much sound a material can absorb. Measured on a 0 to 1 scale, materials with a 0.0 grade absorb no sound while materials with a 1.0 grade absorb all of the sound they come in contact with.
To determine a material's NRC rating, tests are done at a range of pitches. The final NRC rating is an average of these different pitch ratings.
When working on improving the acoustics of a space, always consider the material's NRC rating.
Well, yes, but it would be expensive and probably look bad. A better plan is to strategically place acoustic material throughout the space. To do that, we need to understand how sound travels around a room.
The sounds we hear are a combination of direct and reflected waves. Direct sound waves come unobstructed from the source to the receiver. Reflected sound waves bounce off other objects before reaching the receiver.
Echoes are the best way to understand reflected sound waves. If you have ever been in an empty gym or warehouse, you know the phenomenon. You can shout anything, wait a few seconds, and then hear your voice reverberate back. Fun in an empty warehouse. Miserable in your office.
Most of today's workspaces have an acoustic reverberation problem. Delayed, reflected sounds pester us while we are trying to focus or brainstorm with a colleague. Fortunately, we can use design to combat these issues.
The best way to reduce reflected sounds is through acoustic wall tiles and acoustic ceiling baffles. These products are designed with soft, porous materials with a high NRC rating. With ceiling baffles, sound that is reflected back is reflected into another baffle that further reduces the wave's strength.
Adios, echoes.
Direct sound waves are simpler to understand. They are often the largest offender in a noisy room.
To reduce direct sounds, start with a form of division. From room dividers to desk dividers, there are plenty of options and styles available to fit your environment. If loudness is an issue in your space, be sure your divider has acoustic panels three to seven feet off the ground. Voices are usually the source of excessive loudness, and that range is the sweet spot to reduce direct sound waves from people sitting or standing.
For best results, design against reflected sound waves and direct sound waves together. That usually looks like a combination of acoustic dividers and acoustic ceiling baffles. When spaces are properly designed with acoustic solutions, the results speak for themselves.
Ready to turn down the volume in your space? Our team is standing by, ready to help.
Acoustics, applied
Send us your floor plan and a description of the noise problem. We will recommend a layout of dividers and baffles that fits the space.