How to Improve Room Acoustics
In today’s open office environments, maintaining acoustic comfort is essential for employee productivity and well-being. Noise is one of the most significant distractions, negatively affecting concentration and overall work efficiency. So, how can you enhance the acoustics in your office? Here are some expert tips from the acoustics specialists at LIKO-S.
Watch the episode from the LIKO-Experts series, where Technical Director Ladislav Ravas talks about room acoustics and creating acoustic comfort in offices.
Understanding Room Acoustics and Reverberation Time
Room acoustics involves how sound is produced, travels, and impacts the surrounding environment. Sound waves bounce back in spaces with hard surfaces like concrete, glass, or other reflective materials, leading to increased acoustic pressure. This can result in unpleasant echoes and reduced speech intelligibility.
In office settings, managing reverberation time is crucial—the duration it takes for sound pressure to decrease by 60 decibels. This is measured in seconds, with the ideal range for an office being between 0.4 to 0.8 seconds. Exceeding this range can cause distracting echoes, disrupting focus, increasing stress, and lowering productivity.
Reducing Reverberation Time with SilentPET Acoustic Panels
Sound-absorbing materials are essential to effectively reduce reverberation time in offices. One such material is SilentPET, which is made from recycled PET bottles. SilentPET is a broadband absorber that efficiently absorbs sound frequencies between 300 and 3,000 Hz—the typical range for spoken words.
SilentPET and similar materials can reduce reverberation time to the desired 0.4 to 0.8 seconds. Acoustic panels made from this material are ideal for offices where reducing noise and improving speech clarity are priorities.
Optimal Placement of Acoustic Panels
The effectiveness of acoustic panels depends on both the material and their placement within the space. Panels should ideally be positioned near noise sources, such as workstations or meeting rooms. Free-standing screens, phone booths, or specially designed phone stations are highly effective, as they localize noise and prevent it from spreading.
Another effective strategy is to install acoustic panels on the ceiling. Suspending the panels, which allows for sound absorption from both sides, achieves maximum efficiency. These suspended panels, often referred to as baffles, can dampen sound waves not only from direct sources but also from reflections off surrounding surfaces, significantly reducing acoustic pressure in the room.
Suspended panels are also beneficial for preventing the spread of longitudinal sound energy throughout the room. By placing panels at a certain distance from walls or ceilings, sound waves are dampened twice—once as they pass through the panel and again as they reflect back, doubling the effectiveness of the noise reduction.
HOW SILENTPET PANELS WORK IN PRACTICE
Special Acoustic Considerations for Other Spaces
In environments like classrooms, restaurants, lecture halls, or concert venues, the goal is to absorb sound and direct it appropriately. Ensuring sound reaches the intended area with the right intensity and quality is crucial in these cases. For instance, spoken words should be clearly heard even at the far end of a room. Achieving this requires careful planning and the use of acoustic materials that can direct sound effectively.
The Impact of Furniture Placement on Acoustics
The furniture arrangement in an office can significantly affect the room’s acoustics. Large solid surfaces like desks and cabinets can reflect sound, creating unpleasant echoes. To mitigate this, it’s recommended to use soft materials and textiles that absorb sound. For example, fabric screens between workstations can significantly reduce noise transmission.
Minimizing Noise from Adjacent Rooms
To create a quiet environment, adequate soundproofing of interior partitions, doors, and movable walls is essential to prevent the spread of unwanted noise. Quality sound insulation is key to avoiding disturbances between rooms.
Isolating Noisy Conversations in Acoustic Booths
Instead of allowing disruptive phone calls or loud meetings to spread noise across the room and disturb others, it’s better to contain the noise at its source. Acoustic booths are designed to isolate sound, ensuring a quiet and productive environment.
These booths are available in various sizes and configurations—from small phone booths ideal for individual calls to larger acoustic booths designed for meetings. This approach can effectively reduce noise in open-plan offices or other shared spaces without compromising tranquility. Additionally, acoustic booths provide necessary privacy, protect sensitive information, and make participants feel more comfortable during conversations.
Incorporating Greenery for Better Acoustics
Plants are natural sound absorbers. Even a few indoor plants can improve acoustics in smaller offices. However, larger spaces may require a more systematic approach, such as installing a living wall. Living walls act as large acoustic panels. With a dense concentration of plants, they can absorb more sound than individual plants spread around the room.
Besides their acoustic benefits, living walls positively impact employee health and well-being. Indoor plants help reduce stress levels, improve air quality, and create a pleasant environment that fosters creativity and concentration.
Would you like your piece of nature?
Consulting an Expert
Every space is unique and requires a tailored approach. Consulting an acoustics expert can help identify problem areas and recommend solutions that meet your specific needs. Professional analysis and implementation can significantly enhance acoustic conditions, thereby improving overall workplace comfort.
Final Thoughts
Improving office acoustics is an investment in your employees’ productivity and satisfaction. Using suitable materials, technologies, and expert advice, you can create an environment where everyone feels comfortable. If you’re interested in improving the acoustics in your office, don’t hesitate to contact the experts at LIKO-S, who will be happy to advise you and suggest optimal solutions.
